Let Sleeping Wolves Lie
by onespoongirl
Summary: Beth has just moved across the Atlantic to be closer to her father, who lives in Beacon Hills, but she arrives just in time for a dead body in the woods and something monstrous prowling the school hallways. American teen sitcoms really didn't prepare her for this. Stiles/OC/Lydia polyamory. Slow burn.
1. From Wales with Love

AN: Hello everyone! I don't really have much to say here, I hope you enjoy the story because I certainly enjoyed writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf but I think you already knew that.

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Chapter 1: From Wales with Love

On the other side of the room, the alarm clock went off sounding like a meltdown at a nuclear factory, and Beth's eyes shot open. She lurched across the room to turn off the infernal device before it woke the entire neighbourhood. Her sleep heavy and cumbersome fingers fumbled with the buttons before she finally found the right one. The silence that followed was heavy. She sank down on the desk chair, resting her head on the cold surface of the table, willing her eyes not to fall shut again because if they did she would fall asleep again regardless of her uncomfortable position.

With a groan, she staggered to her feet and turned on the light, which made her squint her eyes. She had only lived in Beacon Hills for three weeks but already her room showed a distinct Beth-ness; the cream walls were decorated with countless photographs, which hung from strings with pegs. Some of them were Polaroids and some were printed from the computer. Up against one of the walls was a shelf system with camera equipment of varying degrees of age and functionality. In the corner lay an old Nikon F2, that Beth had bought intending to repair until it was clear that her talents lied in photography and not repairing cameras.

The door to her room cracked open and she looked blearily at the head that peeked through the crack.

"Dad sent me to check on you to see if you're up. He also told me to throw your alarm clock out of the window, although he used some more expletives."

Chloe opened the door wider when it was apparent she didn't have to use it as a shield. Her rumpled appearance made it clear that she had also just gotten out of bed; her normally straight and shiny hair was mussed and tangled and her eyes was still crusted from sleep.

"That alarm clock is the only reason I'm still not a drooling mess." Beth stifled a yawn behind her.

"Who says you're still not a drooling mess?" Chloe asked playfully and swiped at Beth's face.

Beth dodged and gestured rudely at Chloe with one hand while wiping her mouth with the other. She could hear someone making breakfast downstairs, and a delicious smell of bacon drifted up from below. In the kitchen she was met with the sight of her father standing before the stove, juggling what looked to be three different pans all at once. He already looked ready for the day, even though it was abnormally early in the morning, or abnormally early for a teenager who'd just enjoyed three weeks of blessed time off school. His hair, just as curly as Beth's, laid perfectly coiffed on his head.

"'Morning dad," Beth said as she stepped over and peered into the pans. "Are you making a full English breakfast?"

Jaime only spared her a glance before he diverted his full attention back to the cooking. "Good morning, Beth. We wanted to give you a good start on your first day of school." The baked beans had begun to smoke a bit and he quickly removed the pan from the heat.

Chloe had walked in after Beth and gotten two mugs from the cabinet, which she was filling, with coffee. "I Googled Welsh breakfast but that's with fish or something, so I vetoed that."

Beth accepted the mug proffered by Chloe. "It's shellfish, actually. But this is great, it is. It smells just like home."

Jaime sent her a small smile as he tipped the fried eggs over on a plate. He hadn't said anything, which wasn't unusual as he wasn't very talkative in general, but he seemed anxious to make sure Beth was happy living with him. She didn't intent on giving him any reason to think otherwise.

"I trust you slept well?" Jaime asked in his measured voice.

Beth jumped up on the kitchen counter and watched Jaime cook. When she was younger, she had never understood his somewhat formal way of speaking, not just to her but to everyone. Other fathers called their daughters pet names and other terms of endearment, but Jaime had always been very reserved. It wasn't until she got older that she understood it was just one of his many peculiarities. "Like a rock. You'd really think I would've been too nervous to sleep last night, starting in a new school and all."

In that moment, Louie sauntered through the doors. If Jaime looked ready to take on the day, Louie looked like he was ready to take over the world. He hurried over to the kitchen table and started to gather some stray papers. "Good morning girls. I'm sorry but I can't stay for breakfast, but I just got a call from Berger that I need to come in right away. The police found something in the woods last night and they want me to cover it."

"The woods? What did they find?" Beth asked while kicking her legs out, almost kicking Louie as he went past.

"If I told you it'd spoil the surprise," Came the muffled answer. Louie was trying to wrestle his day planner into his bag while simultaneously showing a piece of toast into his mouth.

"It'll take us like five minute to hear in school anyway. I swear this city is the worst at keeping secrets." Chloe got up and helped Jaime carry the food to the kitchen table.

Louie went over to Jaime and gave him a quick kiss. "I don't know if I will be home for dinner. It sounded pretty serious so I'm probably going to pull some overtime if I want the story ready for the morning newspaper." Louie turned towards Beth and Chloe. "Now girls, I know you've just had a long break but now playtime is over. Beth, you've never gone to an American school so this is literally the most important advice I can give you: cafeteria food sucks. The dough is made with sawdust and the macaroni used to be some poor kid's arts project. Stay away from the meatloaf."

Beth snorted. "The food at my old school wasn't exactly four stars either."

"Well then you won't have problems digesting whatever is in the mac n' cheese. Oh, and also, Chloe, please don't bite anyone, okay?"

Chloe threw a dishrag at him. "Aren't you in a hurry? Please?"

"Indeed I am. Have a great first day!" Louie ducked out of the kitchen and a few seconds later, they heard the front door close.

When all the food was ready, they sat down to eat. The beans were a tad runny but otherwise it tasted pretty much like an English breakfast.

"Are you homesick yet?" Chloe asked and nudged Beth in the leg. Jaime sent her a look over the rim of his coffee cup.

"Well, not really. As you said this is an English breakfast. If it had been a Welsh, I'd be absolutely inconsolable." Beth nudged her back. "But I am mostly excited, really. I've never actually gone to a new school - I mean a school with all new people."

"You already know a bunch of people, so it's not like you'd have to eat your lunch in the bathroom. Lydia seemed very excited that you were moving here." That was true. Beth had met Lydia five years' prior when Jaime and Louie had been invited to dinner at the Martin residence. They were the same age and since then they'd meet every time Beth was in Beacon Hills. Three days after Beth had moved to Beacon Hills, Lydia had showed up at the front door and whisked Beth off to meet her friends, with varying success. Beth had liked most of the people she met, with the exception of Lydia's boyfriend, who was probably the one it was most important that she liked, but Jackson made it exceedingly easy to dislike him.

When they finished breakfast, Jaime started to clear the table. "You better get ready now or you're going to be late for school."

"Dad, I do believe you are right." Beth got up from the table and stretched her arms over her head.

"I call dips on the shower," Chloe yelled and skipped towards the door.

"No! You'll use up all the hot water again!" Beth hurried after her but nearly lost a finger in the bathroom door. "I can't believe there's only one bathroom in this gigantic house!" She yelled through the bathroom door. The Sandoval house was big, though there were only two toilets and one shower, which normally wouldn't have bothered Beth, as the house she lived in in Wales had been small and cramped. The main difference was that she'd lived alone with her mother, and now she had to share a bathroom with someone who kept using all the hot water.

On the other side Chloe laughed. "It wasn't a problem before you moved here, honey. I'll be quick I promise."

After Beth's shower, she had barely had time to get dressed after the shower before there was a knock at the door. "Are you decent?" Chloe yelled from behind the door.

"Not particularly, really." Beth yelled back.

Tentatively the door opened. Chloe peeked inside before she opened it completely. "Oh, good. I wasn't sure if you were talking about not being dressed or just you in general. But get a move on I want to get to school early to catch up. Also, that is cute. I approve." She nodded towards the dress Beth was wearing; an off-white, pinstriped dress that was a gift from her mum before she moved.

"Oh thank god, I was afraid I would have to change," Beth said while rolling her eyes.

Chloe walked forward and brushed invisible dust off Beth's shoulders. "They grow up so fast," she said with a thick voice. Beth only just stopped herself from burying her elbow in Chloe's gut. "But for real, though, we gots to go."

"Oh, wait a moment!" With a flourish, Beth grabbed her camera bag from where it was lying on the shelf. It was a Polaroid camera she'd gotten from Jaime and it was her most precious possession.

"Say cheese!" Beth said, holding it out in front of them. The flash went off and with a whirring noise and the camera spat out a picture. She grabbed it and put it in a small pocket on the camera bag.

"Okay grandma, can we go now? If you're not down by the front door in 5 minutes, I'm leaving without you." Chloe spun around and disappeared out the door.

It took Beth exactly eight minutes to gather all her stuff and get down by the front door; she knew because Chloe had yelled increasingly annoyed updates on exactly how long it took Beth to get ready.

"I need to go to the office first, actually. If you'd kindly show me the way that would be fantastic." They walked towards the school, which was just across the road from their home.

Chloe sighed loudly. "Urgh, fine. I'll show you the way but I can't be late. You have an excuse because you are new, you can just say you got lost, but I refuse to have the record for fastest detention in a new school year. Honestly Beth, it's the first day and you're already dragging me down. I should just push you in front of a car."

"Your dad told you not to bite anyone, I'm pretty sure pushing someone into oncoming traffic is off limits too."

"Urgh, he says that all the time. I don't know who told him he was funny but they lied to his face."

They arrived at school early enough that many students hadn't yet arrived. Beth really hadn't been particularly nervous about starting in a new school, but standing in the car park she worried at the sleeves of her black leather jacket until Chloe's stilled her hands.

"Look, Beth, it's not like you don't know anyone here, right. You've been to Beacon Hills once a year since forever and you've met a tonne of my friends and-and you know Chloe freaking Sandoval and if that doesn't give you an in with basically everybody then I don't know what will." Chloe sent Beth a warm smile until something distracted her over Beth's shoulder. "Actually, there's Lydia. Already a friendly face." She turned Beth around and practically shoved her over towards Lydia who was standing by a silver beetle. "Ask her to show you where the office is," she said as she was already on her way to a group of people standing beside the school entrance.

"You're a rotten sister!" Beth yelled after her but kept walking towards Lydia.

She'd didn't remember a time she didn't know Lydia. Their parents were friends and it made sense their children would get stuck together. They didn't become friends proper before Beth found the joy of photography and they developed a sort of mutual beneficial relationship: Lydia loved the attention and Beth loved the muse.

In place of a greeting, Lydia looked disapprovingly down at Beth's feet. "Sneakers, Beth. Really?" She herself wore a formfitting, expensive looking coat and the sunshine made her hair look glossy.

"Yes sneakers. They're very comfortable," said Beth and wriggled her toes. Lydia scowled at her and Beth answered with a blinding smile.

"They look like they've been prescribed by a podiatrist."

"Those shoes are bitchin' so I will take that as a compliment. Oh, what do you think of my dress?" Beth swirled around with her arms outstretched.

Lydia looked at her outfit with a calculating look. "It's acceptable, I guess. Not a fan of that jacket though, it makes you look like you just got out of an Iron Maiden concert."

"I'll take it," Beth said jovially and gestured towards the entrance, "shall we?"

Lydia smiled an almost predatory-like smile. She spun around until she faced the school, and started walking as if she was on a runway in Milan and not outside a high school in California. Even the wind seemed to favour her, as it provided a gentle breeze that made it look she was in the middle of a Kanye West music video.

Beth followed a step behind her, not wanting to interrupt Lydia as she asserted her dominance over the school populace. Besides, she could never hope to match Lydia's powerwalk.

Two guys were standing in front of the entrance to the school, right in the way of Lydia's march. One of them sported a mop of dark hair and the other an unfortunate buzz cut and a novelty t-shirt.

"Hey Lydia!" the shorthaired one said after Lydia's retreating form. She made no move to show she had even heard the boy.

When they got inside the school, Beth skipped up to walk beside Lydia. "Uh, I need to go to the office first. I need my schedule and stuff like that."

Lydia turned so her red hair whirled around her. She sighed as if showing Beth to the office was a heavy burden. "Fine. It's down that hall and to the left. There's a big sign in front that says Administration, so even you wouldn't be able to miss it."

"Wow Lydia, that cuts really deep. It's almost like you're trying to hurt me." Beth walked backwards down the hallway Lydia indicated, a playful smile on her lips. "You know I don't think you can sit with me a lunch anymore."

Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed as if she was dealing with a problem child. "Go to the office, Beth."

Beth saluted and turned around so she wouldn't fall over her own feet, and as she walked, she took the time to look at the school. It looked just as rundown as her old one, which was somewhat comforting. The students looked the same and she could hear the same type of "how was your holiday" questions albeit with an American accent.

She opened the door to the office and was immediately met with a sour-looking secretary who didn't so much as look up from the screen as Beth stepped up to the counter. "Take a seat, please." She droned, sounding bored out of her mind. Beth raised her eyebrows over the secretary's attitude but nodded once and turned around to look for a place to sit. Behind her were some chairs pushed up against the wall, one of them already occupied by a dark haired girl who looked like she was about to burst from nervous energy. Beth threw herself into the seat beside her.

"Phew, I am so relieved that I am not the only new student here. It's bad enough starting in a new school but in a completely different country too is just a bit nerve-wracking."

The girl startled at the sound of Beth's voice. "Is it that obvious?" The girl combed her hair with her fingers and smiled nervously at Beth.

"A little bit. You're sitting in the administration office on the first day of school, looking just a tad … green. You're either new or you've already gotten in trouble and no offence but you don't look like a dastardly troublemaker."

"Oh, uh, well I'm not. A troublemaker I mean." the girl's smile became a little more genuine and Beth mentally pumped a fist in the air in triumph. "So, uh, what are you in for?"

Beth grinned. "Got five to eight for releasing the frogs from the biology classroom. That's something you Americans do, right?"

The girl laughed, which made the secretary shoot them an angry look over her monitor.

"I'm Beth, by the way."

"I'm Allison. Where are you from?" It looked like some of Allison's nerves had left her and she had turned so she faced Beth.

"Wales, though my dad has lived in Beacon Hills for years so I've visited about every summer and my sister goes to the school too."

"I imagine it's less intimidating starting here when you actually know somebody in this town," said Allison and looked around the room with a pained expression. Some of that aforementioned green colour returned to her cheeks.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm just really good at hiding how utterly terrified I am," Beth said and sent her a reassuring smile, "fake it until you make it, right?"

Allison nodded and took a calming breath. Somewhere in the school, the bell rang and she frowned. "Um, an administrator was in here just before you, but he had to take care of something."

"I think that not having our schedules and not having a clue where to go is a good enough excuse being late." Beth leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and chatted with Allison until the door opened and a man entered.

"Miss Argent and Miss Vinther, I see you've become acquainted. I'm sorry for the delay but there were matters I had to attend to." He grabbed two folders from behind the counter. "This is your schedule and a map of the school where your lockers are marked. My name is Moris Cooper and I'm the school's administrator. If you have any problems, you can come to me. Follow me, please." He gestured towards the door and both girls got up.

"Miss Argent, you said before that San Francisco isn't the place you grew up." Mr Cooper looked at Allison while they walked.

"No, but we lived there for more than a year which is unusual with my family," Allison said, looking just as nervous as she had when Beth had first entered the office.

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while. And for you too, Miss Vinther. You may not remember me but I met you a couple of years ago when there was an unveiling of the sculpture your father made for the school."

Beth tried to think back but it had been four years ago and she'd been introduced to a lot of people that day and none of them really stood out.

"Your dad's a sculptor?" Allison asked looking at Beth with curious eyes.

"Yeah, but he paints more than he sculptures, I guess." As Beth talked she tried to take note of the way to the classroom, but after the first few turns, she was totally lost.

"Ah, here's your classroom," Mr Cooper said and gestured towards a closed door. Through the glass pane, Beth saw a mousy teacher standing by a blackboard. When Mr Cooper opened the door and interrupted the teacher, he did not look enthused.

"Class, this is our new students Allison Argent and Bethan Vinther. Please do your best to make them feel welcome." With that, he headed out the door. Fortunately, there were two empty seats and Beth grabbed the first one that was in front of the dark haired guy she had seen earlier. She tried to smile at him but by the looks of it, he only had eyes for Allison.

Beth sat down and got her notebook and pencil case. She fiddled with the worn spine of the book Chloe had loaned her. She could hear her teacher drone on in the background in a voice one could only describe as uninspiring, so she sat back and let the over-analysis of the Metamorphosis wash over her.

… … … … … …

Beth walked with Allison towards their lockers, which were almost right next to each other.

"Sweet, I've never had one of these," Beth said as she peered into her locker, "this day is just full of new experiences. What should I put in it?"

Allison looked at her from two lockers over with a bemused smile. "Whatever you want I guess, but I think the intended purpose is school books."

"Urgh that's boring." Beth closed the locker and leaned her shoulder against it. She saw something that made her eyes glint with glee. "Hey Allison, don't look now but I think someone is looking at you."

Allison straightened up and peeked stealthily through her long hair at the dark-haired boy from their English class. The downright bashful smile she sported was pretty telling what she thought of him. "He borrowed me a pen." She said while biting her lips to hide the smile.

"Ooh, you know that means you're married!" Beth said with a cheeky grin.

"Beth!" Allison admonished but she still laughed, even when red appeared on her cheeks. "Honestly."

"What did she do now?" Like a creature out of a Dracula adaption, Lydia appeared as if she stepped out of the mist. "Never mind. That jacket is absolutely killer. See Beth, not everyone has to dress like they have a leather fetish."

"It's one jacket, Lydia, it's not like I've come to school in assless chaps."

Lydia pointedly ignored Beth. "So, where'd you get it?"

Allison looked between Beth and Lydia, a slightly confused smile playing in the corners of her mouth. "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

"And you are my new best friend." Lydia said with easy confidence that came from never having anyone really oppose her.

"No!" Beth croaked, and clutched her heart. "Does this mean I'm not even a contender anymore? Shit Lydia, you're breaking my heart."

Lydia sent her a derisive smile. "You were never even a consideration, sweetie."

Beth's mock-horrified look was wiped away when a cloud of man-perfume announced the presence of Jackson who descended on Lydia's face like a leech. "Oh, hi," she said in a flat tone. Because of her friendship with Lydia, she couldn't be openly antagonistic towards Jackson, but by God, the boy made it difficult to remain civil.

"Hello," said Allison a little unsure which was understandable enough, since one of her conversational partners was just unceremoniously snogged in a school hallway.

Lydia [reattached] herself from Jackson. "Oh, this is Jackson." She sent her boyfriend a playful look. "I didn't catch your name, actually."

"I'm Allison," Allison said and gave a small wave. She was holding her messenger bag in front of her kind of like it was a shield.

"We're in English together," Beth added, wanting to be a part of the conversation somehow.

Jackson spared her a look that clearly said that he didn't care, and turned back to Lydia. Beth had to fight the urge to stick out her tongue at him.

Lydia also pointedly ignored Beth. "So, this weekend there's a party."

"A party?" Allison asked, looking like she wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

"Yeah," Jackson said, "Friday night. You should come."

"Beth is the photographer," Lydia said with confidence. "She has all those cameras and now they can finally come to good use."

"I am? When exactly was this decided?" Beth leaned forward and shot Lydia a questioning look. "Because I don't remember agreeing to be your personal photographer."

"It was decided when you can't go two minutes without taking photos of whatever mundane thing is happening. Honestly, it's kinda sad how you use your camera as a security blanket. You know as well as I that you would spend the entire party behind a camera anyway, and now you're just in my employ."

"Great, does that mean you'll pay me?"

"No," Lydia snapped and turned towards Allison, "so what do you say?"

"Uh I can't. It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking."

Beth felt a pang of disappointment as she liked Allison and the party would be infinitely better if she were there to block out the Lydia/Jackson snogging session that would surely commence.

Apparently, Jackson was disappointed too. "You sure? I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage."

"You mean like football?" Allison asked innocently. Beth wanted to shake her head vigorusley. Jackson felt very fondly of his lacrosse and there was a high possibility of an angry rant if he heard any perceived slight against it.

"Football's a joke in Beacon," Jackson spat. "The sport here is lacrosse. We've won the state championship in the last three years." He sounded so smug that Beth almost gagged.

"Because of a certain team captain," Lydia said, never turning down a chance to brag. She adjusted Jackson's hair while practically letting him carry her entire weight.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don't have anywhere else to go." Jackson turned towards Beth. "I know that it might seem confusing for your but in America, sport is sort of a big deal and we have to practice-"

"Piss off water-boy; I know what bloody practice is." Even though he only tried to get a rise out of her, she still raised her hackles at his condescending tone.

Lydia clicked her tongue in disapproval at the two. "And Jackson-" she shot him an acidic look- "is going to be late. So come on. Allison?" She waited for the girl to nod before she turned on her heel and marched down the hallway somehow making even the click of her heels sound angry.

When they arrived out at the field, the players were already running around on the field, swinging their sticks.

"Jackson wasn't kidding when he said lacrosse is the sport at Beacon," Allison said, as they sat on the bleachers. They were surrounded by student who, like them, had shown up to watch people play lacrosse.

"Yeah, I thought showing up and watching people practice sports was only something I did." Beth sat behind Allison and Lydia but was leaned forward so she could hear them over the loud whistles and yells from the players.

"You really like sports that much?" Allison asked with a smile.

"There was a local rugby team and I swear I was their biggest fan. Actually, I reckon I was their only fan because they really sucked."

Lydia flipped her hair over her shoulder and almost hit Beth in the face. "Well, this team is not some backwater soccer team. Winning actually matters here." She sounded so smug that you'd think she'd herself singlehandedly won the championship.

Beth was in the middle of a heated explanation on the differences between real football and rugby when Allison interrupted them. "Who is that?" She nodded towards the goal, where number 11 was standing looking back and forth with a somewhat lost look.

"Him? I'm not sure who he is," Lydia said, "why?"

"I thought you were the queen bee of this school, aren't they supposed to know all their little bee-lings?" Beth asked with a cheeky smile, and Lydia responded with an unimpressed look.

"He's in our English class," Allison said with a small, shy smile.

"He loaned her a pen!" Beth said excitedly, this time earning an annoyed look from Lydia.

"How wonderful," she deadpanned and turned her attention back on the lacrosse pitch.

Down on the field it looked like number 11 was having some issues. "Um, he doesn't look too good." She leaned forward again as if she could get a better look at the guy who had grabbed his head as if he was in pain. "Shouldn't we-" she didn't finish her sentence before a lacrosse ball nailed him in the face. The only reason he didn't wind up with a broken nose was due to the helmet. There was scattered laughter around them.

After a couple of seconds, he got up again and stood ready at the goal. Beth winced as the next guy swung his stick but amazingly, enough Allison's pen-dealer caught the ball. Even buried under layers of protective gear she could see the other player's confusion. On the bench in front of the field buzz cut guy gave a surprised yell of encouragement.

The next player threw the ball closer to the ground but as before, the dude caught it neatly. He repeated that feat a couple of more times, until the small crowd were cheering for him.

"It seems like he's really good," Allison said with a slightly dreamy expression.

"Yeah, really good," Lydia said, looking more surprise than amazed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't knowing all the best lacrosse players your thing, Lyds?" Beth asked from behind them.

"Don't call me that," she said absentmindedly. "That must have happened over the break, there is no way that I didn't notice him last year."

"Someone must have eaten all their Brussels sprouts," Beth mumbled but she, like Lydia and Allison, wasn't paying attention to what came out of her mouth as Jackson had just stepped forward, looking like a scorned king ready to challenge a usurper. It was a tad overdramatic for high school lacrosse.

Beth held her breath as the ball soared towards the goal. Not surprisingly, the ball got stopped before it met its destination and around her people started cheering. Even Lydia stood up to cheer, but Beth was only confused for a second and a half before she saw the challenging look she shot in Jackson's direction. "That's healthy, that is," Beth mumbled, but it was drowned out in the ruckus. On the bench, the dude who she could only describe as strangely elastic looked to be having a celebratory seizure.

"I'm going to talk with his friend," Beth said and got up.

Allison's hand shot out and grabbed Beth's wrist. "Why?" She asked and looked at Beth with alarmed eyes.

"To find out who he is and, according to Lydia, which creature of the night he sold his soul to, to be this good at lacrosse." Beth gently pried Allison's fingers away from her wrist. "And besides, I am nothing if not aggressively friendly." When Allison's hand was gone, Beth turned around and climbed down from the bleachers. After a little difficulty getting past people without knocking them down, she plopped down on the bench beside buzz cut.

"That's your mate there, isn't it?" she asked and leaned forward, adopting the same stance as him.

The boy yelped louder than should have been necessary, which made Beth rear back with a confused look. He opened his mouth but it looked like his brain still hadn't caught up completely.

"Y-yes he's my ma-I mean friend." He looked at her like he wasn't quite sure she was sitting there.

Beth waited for him to elaborate a bit while she stretched out her legs in front of her. When he just continued to gawk she realised she had to prompt him a little more. "And his name is?"

"Scott!" Buzz cut almost shouted. Across the field, Scott's head snapped up as if someone had called his name. "Yeah, his name is Scott and you-you're Bethan right? We have English and Chemistry together." He still sounded utterly confused but now he at least seemed to have rediscovered the use of words without having to be prompted.

"Everyone calls me Beth, except my grandmother who thinks it's disrespecting Welsh culture. I'm fairly certain she has written me out of her will." She smiled at him but he just nodded thoughtfully, like they were discussing global politics and Beth hadn't just made a terrible joke.

They looked at each other for couple of long, awkward moments before Beth asked, "so what's your name-"

"I'm Stiles." They said at the same time.

They both stopped abruptly and Beth pursed her lips while they silently observed the players. She wasn't lying when she said she was aggressively friendly, she could talk with pretty much anyone, but for some reason the awkwardness of trying to talk with Stiles made her forget every conversational topic she had stored in her brain.

Stiles' was tapping a confusing beat on the bench. It seemed like he had to have some body part moving, lest the nervous energy would build up and he would rocket off to the moon. She crossed and uncrossed her ankles, desperately trying to find something to talk about. If there was anything Beth didn't do well, it was long uncomfortable silences.

"I don't even know the rules for Lacrosse," she said as she leaned her head back to enjoy the sun with her eyes closed.

"Wha-?"

She cracked open an eye and looked at Stiles. Instead of tapping on the bench, he was turning a lacrosse helmet repeatedly between his hands.

"The rules for lacrosse. I don't know them. I don't think I've ever watched a game of lacrosse even though I do watch a lot of sports. And we're not just talking the regular football and basketball, we are talking obscure shit." She stole at look at Stiles again and he looked at her with narrowed eyes. "A bunch of my mates and I once took the bus to Gloucester- that's in England -to a cheese rolling competition."

There was an unbelieving snort from Stiles, and she opened her eyes and levelled him with an even stare. He was leaning back on the bench and by the looks of it, only an exceptional equilibrium kept him from toppling down. "On top of a hill the cheese is released-" She stopped to truly admire the circumstances that led to her saying that sentence. "-and people leg it down trying to catch it."

"Is that true?" He asked, his voice somewhere between laughter and scepticism.

"No, I've never been. The rest of it is true, though. It's my life's dream to catch that darn cheese."

A smile spread across Stiles' face. "No ending world hunger or-or I be ridiculously famous? You want to catch a runaway cheese." He snickered into his fist.

"Hey, don't you dare criticise my one true dream. I can get there with patience and hard work."

Stiles looked a little unsure about what he should say. "I-uh … at least it's doable I guess."

Beth nodded eagerly. "With low goals there's less chance of disappointment," she said cheerfully.

"So, has Scott always been a bloody ninja at Lacrosse?" Beth asked when they'd been quiet for a time.

Stiles furrowed his brows as he watched his friend dance around obstacles like a ballerina. "No, definitely not. He has asthma but he hasn't used his inhaler today at all." He was leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and tapping a finger on his chin.

"You can grow out of that, can't you?" Beth leaned forward too, to try and make eye contact with Stiles.

The coach blew the whistle and the players gathered in a huddle. Evidently, practice was over because the audience started to get up and move towards the school.

Beth got up from the bench. "Well, that's my cue I guess. Nice chatting with you, Stiles," She said with a smile and a little wave.

Stiles waved back absentmindedly but it was like the mention of his friend had snapped him out of any form of thought not concerned with Scott, who was standing in the middle of the field shaking his head like his ears were full of water.

When it became apparent that Stiles wouldn't answer, she threw up her hands and started towards Lydia and Allison, who were waiting for her by the bleachers.

"Did you find out his name?" It seemed that Allison herself realised how eager she sounded, because she immediately tried to backtrack. "I mean-"

"His name is Scott and he used to have asthma but that it's maybe gone, apparently." Beth shrugged and lay an arm over Allison's shoulder as they walked back to the school.

Allison wasn't fast enough to hide the infatuated smile that spread on her face at the mention of his name. It was incredible how fast she had gotten smitten, and by the looks of it, Scott had caught the love bug too.

"Did you talk about anything else? You were down there some time." Allison's hopeful voice made Beth smile.

Beth's smile turned to a grin. "Cheese, mostly." Allison snorted loudly and shot her a confused look. "Seriously, instead of asking me, who, by the way, has all of this information from a second hand source, you could just go and talk to him." She gave Allison's shoulder a little squeeze.

"Oh no, I'm not going to do any dating. I am going to finish high school without distractions, that's the plan."

"I just want to say, for the record, that you were the one who brought up dating. It's 2012 Allison, people are allowed to have friend of a different gender without the need of a chaperone."

Allison snorted and bit her lips. "You don't know my parents at all. I'm pretty sure my dad would prefer if I only have friends of the female persuasion."

"Oh, it's so much easier when you're bi and both your parents know. They can't very well ban people in general from your room, so I've never really had that problem. Besides, I seriously can't imagine my dad or Louie setting any sort of restriction on who can come to my room and not."

"Louie is …?"

"My dad's husband and my sister's father. My family situation can seem a bit complicated for the uninitiated."

"I am initiated and I still find it confusing," Lydia said. Her eyes were glued to her phone but apparently, she had been listening to the conversation.

Allison pursed her lips. "Okay, so your mom-"she paused to shoot Beth a questioning look.

"I actually have nine fathers."

"No you do not," Allison laughed and gave Beth a little push.

"You don't know that! I could be like that Arnold Schwarzenegger movie."

Allison laughed and waved her hand in the air as if she was trying to wipe out their current conversation. "Okay, we are getting off track. So your mom is Welsh."

"She is indeed. They met each other in London when my mom was working part time in a gallery my dad's painting was showing. When that didn't work out, he moved to California and met Louie. Actually, my maternal grandfather is Danish, so my roots are spread out over four countries."

"Four?"

"My dad's Mexican. You know where your family is from? As in before they were American."

Lydia had apparently found the conversation too boring because she had diverted her full attention back to her phone. "My family is from France. Argent means silver, actually."

"That's pretty cool. Do you know much about them?" They had reached the school and were walking through the halls.

"Not really. My parents never really talk much about them, only that it's a very old and influential family."

"Maybe you're actually royalty and your family escaped the reign of terror." Beth who up until now still had her arm slung around Allison's shoulder had to let her go so they could navigate the crowded hall.

"Lots of noble families escaped so that wouldn't be that special." Allison dodged two guys who were carrying some kind of papier-mâché monster. It seemed a little early to be doing projects for art class.

"Damn, I thought we had a French princess in our midst."

"Sorry to disappoint," Allison said with a cheeky smile before they all split up towards the different classes.


	2. In the Woods Somewhere

**AN: 'Sup guys! It took a lot longer to get this chapter ready, but I'll try to get the next one out in a week's time.**

 **And shout out to my wonderful beta reader McNagelpuff for writing all the sporty bits. ily**

 **Disclaimer: Still don't owe shit.**

… … … … …

Chapter 2: In the Woods Somewhere

Beth had only just shut the front door behind her before her phone started beeping. She grabbed it from her jacket and looked at the screen. With a smile, she pressed accept. "Mum!"

 _"Beth!"_ her mum's voice was scratchy and flickering but so unmistakably her, that homesickness hit her like a punch in the gut.

"It must be 1 am at home, why are you calling now? It's a school night young lady."

Her mum's answering laugh made tears spring to Beth's eyes and she quickly wiped at them. She would not stand in the foyer and cry for her mummy.

 _"I want to hear how the first day of school went, love."_ Anna's voice sounded choked up which in turn made it much harder for Beth to keep her cool.

Beth walked up the stairs as she answered. "It was nice, it was. I already knew some people so it wasn't that scary. Chloe is a senior there and she introduced me to some people before the school even started. And do you remember me telling you about Lydia?" She closed the door to her room and threw herself on the bed.

 _"I'm so glad you have Chloe. I don't know how comfortable I'd be if I sent you across the pond all on your lonesome."_

Beth smiled into her pillow. Anna and Jaime had had an amicable split, which made everything infinitely easier. "I met another girl at school today. She's new too so we bonded over the fact that neither one of us knows where the nearest bathroom is or what food is safe to eat in the cafeteria."

 _"I'm so glad you had a good first day of school. In fact, I've had a pretty good day as well."_

Even over the lousy connection, Beth could hear the smile in her mother's voice. "I'm all ears, mummy dearest."

 _"So Anthony-"_ by the mere mention of her mother's fiancé the grin that had seemed fixed to Beth's face fell and was replaced by an annoyed pout, _"-just came home today and told me the news: we've gotten the flat!"_

Her mother clearly expected Beth to cheer with her, and Beth gave it her best go, unfortunately, it sounded hollow even to her own ears but Anna apparently didn't notice.

 _"Oh, and love, I know that it makes it a bit harder when you come home, but we'll find a room for you, I promise."_

Beth didn't know how they would find a space for her in a small luxury apartment but she didn't voice those concerns. In fact, she was busy trying to tamp down on the sob that was trying to escape. She knew that would happen it was partly why she left; Anthony had slowly taken over more and more of Anna's life until Beth had felt like she needed to compete for her mother's affection. Instead of taking up the fight, she moved halfway across the world.

"It's fine. Besides, I might stay here. Who knows? I've only had one day of school but so far I like it. Only my chemistry teacher is a right prick."

 _"Beth!"_ her mother exclaimed loudly, her voice wrangled into a screech by the phone.

"Mum, if you met the guy you'd know that is literally the only way to describe him."

 _"But still…"_ her voice trailed off and there was a burst of static as she yawned.

"You should go to bed. We'll talk again soon."

 _"I think I might just do that. I love you, Beth."_

"I love you too." When Beth hung up she let go of the tears she had been holding the entire conversation. She knew it was stupid to be angry with her mother for moving to a new flat, when Beth herself had made the choice to move halfway around the world. However, it still felt like Anna was choosing Anthony over Beth and it made her ache after her mother.

When the tears had dried enough that it wasn't totally obvious that she had been crying, Beth opened the door and stepped out into the hall. The door to Jaime's small home studio was open and Beth went over and leaned against the doorframe. Her father stood with his back to the big windows and worked on his newest painting.

"Hullo dad," she said with a small smile. "You're working from home today?"

Jaime stopped painting and looked at her over the canvas. He was reserved but very intuitive, and the small smile Beth got in return told her that he could see right through her. "I wanted to be here when you got home. How was your first day of school?"

Beth smiled as brightly as she could. "It was great, it really was. What are you working on?" She walked over and stood beside him.

The colours of the painting reminded her simultaneously of sunrise and sunset. Boxes of orange, reds, and pinks bled into each other making the painting look at the same time chaotic and sort of serene. A black border around the edge contained the colours in the frame. In the middle of the painting was a white void where the canvas showed.

"Do you want it?"

Beth's head snapped around to look at Jaime. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. It's a start of the school present. If you want it." He looked at her seriously.

"Dad, that's really amazing. Thank you." She leaned in to hug him. Jaime pressed a kiss to the top of her head and tears sprang to her eyes again. Not for the first time, she cursed her overactive tear ducts.

When she took a step back, she could see the alarm on Jaime's face. "I'm sorry, I'm just a bit overwhelmed today, apparently." She wiped furiously at her eyes and looked down at the ground. "I just had a chat with mum."

"I heard you when you came in," Jaime said, as he resumed painting. He would occasionally look at Beth out of the corner of his eyes. "Is everything all right?"

Beth looked down at her feet. "It was just a bout of homesickness. But that's passed now. I'm fine." She added a little more forcefully when she saw the look on Jaime's face. "Honestly, if I was back in Wales I would just miss you, so really, there's no winning."

Jaime made a sound that could either be a sigh of a chuckle and squeezed her shoulder. "You're making me feel like father of the year over here."

"Good, because that's exactly what you are," Beth said and leaned against him. He smelled like aftershave and cigarettes that Louie didn't let him smoke inside. Jaime put his arms around her and they stood like that for a few seconds.

"So, what is the plan for the rest of the day?" Jaime asked, his voice muffled by her hair. "Chloe won't be home for a couple of hours."

Beth detached herself from Jaime and stretched. She could take a nap and wait for Chloe to come home to entertain her.

"I think I fancy a walk in the woods, maybe that'll cheer me up a bit," she said and smiled at Jaime. "Thanks, dad. Again, for the painting." She gestured towards the canvas that Jaime had resumed working on.

Fifteen minutes later, she was standing by the edge of the forest that bordered the school. She had her trusty camera and a couple of extra rolls of film in her bag.

She started walking, her shoes making the dry leaves on the ground crunch with every step. The air felt cleaner than it did in the "city" somehow, even though she could still see the school through the trees. The tranquillity of the forest helped her push the thoughts of Anthony and Anna away. She stopped occasionally, snapping a photo of the trees, and putting it in envelopes where she wrote the time and place of the picture.

Completely immersed in her own world, Beth startled when she heard voices. She crouched down, swearing when a jagged rock ripped a hole in her leggings. The voices were too far away to make out what they were saying. She waited silently as they drifted closer.

"-Obviously I'm kidding. But if you see me in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, it's 'cause-"

When the flash went off both boys jumped about a meter in the air. The camera whirred as it produced a photograph that Beth stuffed in her jacket pocket. "So what should I write on this one, eh? Time: 4:35, object: Scott and Stiles sneaking through the woo-"

"Sneak-we-we're not sneaking, nobody's sneaking anywhere. Why do you think we're sneaking?" Stiles stammered, one hand gesticulating wildly in the air, the other rubbing his hair so fast it looked like he was trying to light himself on fire.

"I was joking, sorry," Beth said puzzled. That was not the reaction she had expected.

"Yeah, but if you'll-we were kinda …" he gestured around them with both hands.

"You were…" she said trying to make him give her a little more information than just vague hand gestures.

"Hey, you're Beth, right? The one with the cheese," Scott said and gave her a curious look.

Both Beth's and Stiles' eyes snapped to Scott. Stiles groaned and violently threw his hands up into the air.

"Yes, I'm Beth. We have English and Chemistry together. I saw you on the field today. You're really good."

Her praise was met with a troubled look. Scott pouted and took a couple of steps. "No, I-I could have sworn this was it. I saw the body; the deer came running." He crouched down on the ground.

"What are you looking for?" Beth asked as she stepped closer to them, with her eyes on the ground to look for … whatever.

"Nothing."

"My inhaler."

Beth raised an eyebrow and looked from Scott to Stiles. "Right. Wait, what body? You found a body? Of that person who was killed?" She was a bit surprised how eager she sounded to hear about a murder, especially if she was standing in exactly the same spot where the body was found.

"No," they both said in unison.

"Well, at least you can agree on that," she said with a displeased frown. Those two boys were too secretive for her liking.

Stiles opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a strangled gasp as he saw something behind Beth. He hit Scott on the shoulder while Beth whirled around.

Some meters away stood a man dressed in black. He looked undeniably handsome, but the look was somewhat spoiled by the grumpy look on his face. When he got closer, Beth backed up until she stood shoulder to shoulder with Scott.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a voice every bit as angry as his face. When nobody answered, he took a step closer. "This is private property."

Stiles looked at the other two before he tentatively replied, "uh, sorry man, we didn't know."

"Yeah, we were just looking for something, but …" he faltered slightly at the man's hostility. "But, uh, forget it."

The man pulled something out of his jacket and threw it. Beth's bizarre brain first thought grenade, until she saw the inhaler caught by Scott. Her eyes snapped back to the man and she jumped when he looked right at her.

"What's that?" he snapped and gestured to the camera she was still holding.

"Uh … a camera," she said not intending it to sound so rude.

"Did you take any pictures?" the man asked slowly as if he was speaking to a dim-witted child, "you never got permission so you need to delete them immediately."

Beth fumbled in her back after the envelopes. "Um, it's instant film so I've got-hey!"

The man had snatched the envelopes out of her hand and was thumping through them.

"Excuse me, surely some of them have been taken on-" the acidic look he sent her made her take a weary step back.

The man retreated and it wasn't until Beth was sure he was out of hearing distance she said, "Sure, take them all. They're only 2 dollars apiece, you arsehole."

They stood in silence for a moment before Scott said, "All right, I gotta get to work."

"Dude, that was Derek Hale. You remember, right. He's only like a few years older than us." Stiles craned his neck to see if he could still see this Derek Hale.

"Remember what?" Scott asked.

Beth moved closer to them, both to hear better but also because their encounter in the woods had transformed the place from beautiful to immensely creepy, and she felt exposed standing away from the pack like she did.

"His family. They all burned to death in a fire, like, ten years ago."

Beth whistled and both Scott and Stiles jumped. It appeared they had forgotten she was even there. "I don't remember signing up to live in Twin Peaks," she said, fiddling nervously with her camera.

"Do you-do you remember the way back?" Stiles asked and looked her up and down as if he could assess her wayfinding ability by the clothes she wore.

"I have a good idea where we are. That way is the school." She pointed slightly left of where Derek Hale had disappeared. "I live right across from it."

"Yeah, that's right." Scott said hopping from one foot to the other, "sorry, guys, but I really need to get to work."

"Yeah, sure thing. See you tomorrow, I guess," Beth said and saluted them as a way of waving goodbye. She turned and started walking in the way she had indicated, not really wanting to spend too long out in the woods anymore.

… … … … … …

"I am fairly certain that my chemistry teacher is the literal devil," Beth said as she poured some water into her glass.

Chloe looked up from cutting the chicken on her plate. "Mr Harris?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yes! I gather he has something of a reputation."

"Oh he's a real son of a … gun," she said and sent Jaime a cheeky grin. The man in question was quietly eating his meal, but Beth saw how the corners of his mouth twisted up slightly.

"I don't think that was how you were going to end that sentence. Chloe, that's dishonest, please tell us how-" Chloe cut her off with a swift kick under the table. She responded in kind until she heard her father sigh.

"Girls."

"Sorry Jaime."

They ate in silence for approximately three seconds before Beth had to speak lest she breaks out in hives. "Are you going to the party on Friday?"

"Are you asking Jaime or me?"

"Why don't you take a wild guess?"

"I don't know; Jaime are you?"

Jaime sighed, but his exasperated look was somehow ruined by the smile on his face. "You need to keep me out of this."

"Okay then. Yes, I am going." Chloe bit her lower lip in concentration as she tried to remove all the little pieces of spinach from the salad. Jaime and Louie had never been particularly caring if one of the girls disliked a particular foodstuff.

"To a party at a sophomore? I thought you seniors had … I don't know, senior stuff to do." Beth could literally feel her face heating up from all the spices in the food. She took a deep gulp of water to wash it away. Somehow, the water seemed to make it worse.

"Normally, yeah, but when the party is at Lydia Martin's, you show up. Looks like you're in a spot of trouble there, Beth, my dear. Need some help?" She demonstratively took a big bite out of the chicken that had rendered Beth's taste buds in agony.

"Go to hell," Beth whispered, bug-eyed as she theatrically poured another glass of water.

Chloe just laughed and shook her head.

"You'll get used to it," Jaime said calmly, "this is nothing."

"If my tongue doesn't shrivel up and die first."

"Thank you for that mental image." Chloe looked dejectedly at the chicken on her plate.

The front door opened and Louie staggered through. He grabbed the nearest pillar to hold himself up as he groaned. "You will not believe the day I've had. I was on the hold with the sheriff's department for forty minutes before someone would talk to me, and then they wouldn't even comment. Not even on stuff that is supposed to be public record. Aw man, where's my plate?"

"We didn't know when you would be home," Jaime said as he got up to kiss his husband.

"I still have work to do, actually, but I decided to do it here. I couldn't not hear about my girls' first day at school." He went out to the kitchen and got a plate.

"Okay, but first we want to hear about the body," Chloe said as her father sat down.

"Isn't that a little macabre for dinner conversation?"

"Beth just told us about her dead tongue, I would say we can handle it."

Across the table, Beth nodded.

"Alright, weird." He shot Beth a puzzled look. "But check it: they found a dead body in the woods."

"Yeah, we already got that part. The entire school can't seem to talk about anything else," Beth said between bites of chicken.

"Tough audience, okay. Then listen to this." He paused as if to make sure they were all listening to him. He needn't do that as all three other occupants at the table looked at him with rapt attention. "They only found half a body in the woods." He gestured triumphantly with a piece of chicken before he put it in his mouth.

"Which half?" Beth asked eagerly.

"The bottom. It's a Jane Doe for now but they're looking for the other half as we speak. It's been a pain getting through and actually getting any information from the police, but the body they found was covered in bites and scratches so it may just have been an animal attack."

"What a lovely dinner conversation," Jaime said dryly.

"Beth, you didn't fall over a half of a dead body when you were out in the woods, did you?" Chloe asked. "Also, maybe going out in the woods the day after a dead body was found isn't the soundest idea."

Beth didn't fall over a dead body but she did stumble upon someone who talked about a dead body, and who ostensibly had been out in the woods last night. Was it Scott and Stiles who found the body? Or did they find the other half?

"Do you guys know about Derek Hale?" She asked abruptly.

"We really need to work on your changing the subject skills," Louie remarked, "because that wasn't smooth at all."

"His family all died in a fire six years ago. It was an electrical fire," Jaime said.

"I remember that, actually. Yeah, some of the kids went to my school." Chloe furrowed her brows at the memory.

"And Derek Hale was the only survivor?" Beth pushed her food around the plate in thought.

"I believe his uncle survived too. Derek Hale disappeared shortly after that. Why all the questions about the Hale Family?"

"Um, someone in school just mentioned him, is all." Beth wasn't exactly sure why she didn't tell the truth. Well, it was true in a sense that she had heard someone talk about him, but she wanted to have a little chat with Scott and Stiles before she said anything.

"Speaking of!" Louie said loudly and drummed on the table, "how was your first day at school? Is American high school all you dreamt it would be?"

"The dead body in the woods is a bit of a curveball, but otherwise it was top." She gave him two thumbs up.

"Don't let a little thing like death ruin your day. Did you meet anyone acceptable?" Louie used some bread to mop up the last of the sauce on his plate. The other three had already finished eating.

"Aren't you going to ask me about my day?" Chloe asked with mock outrage colouring her voice.

"Alright, so how was your day?"

"Like usual."

"Good talk. So, Beth, your first day at an American school. Tell, please."

"As far as first days it went pretty well. I already know Lydia and Chloe so that saved me from taking my lunch in the bathroom-"

"Please, like you wouldn't just have latched on some poor unsuspecting strangers if we hadn't been there," Chloe said with a snort.

"I am fairly certain my chemistry teacher is a stubbed toe in human form." Beth made a face at the thought of the man.

"Mr Harris," Louie said with a knowing voice. "I remember the day Chloe came home and asked me if I knew any catholic priests to do an exorcism.'

Beth laughed. "If everyone hates him so much I wonder why he hasn't been fired yet."

"They have always had a hard time finding teachers for the school. I think the teachers can take a few liberties as they're such rare commodities," Jaime said while he started to gather the plates.

"Do you have Coach Finstock for econ?" Chloe smirked.

"No. Is it bad?" Beth asked with a wince.

"It's uh, an experience, that's for sure," Chloe said and shrugged.

Louie laughed loudly. "He's coach of the lacrosse team, right? Oh man, that guy is more entertaining to watch than the actual game."

"Oh yeah, I saw him at practice today. He's got uh … spirit." Beth gestured vaguely around her head.

"Or an amphetamine addiction," Chloe mumble as they all cleared the table together.

·· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···

That Friday, Beth was standing in the lunch line. She was desperately trying to hear Allison over the din of the cafeteria.

"So Scott asked you to the party over a hurt dog? How romantic," Beth deadpanned.

Allison bumped her with her shoulder. "Shut up, I feel terrible about that. And he asked me by my car. It actually was, kinda." She smiled so utterly sweetly that Beth felt bad for mentioning the dog.

"But I'm glad that you're going to the party. Your parents didn't mind you skipping family night?"

Allison was silent for a beat. "Not at all."

Beth got her food and looked around after Lydia. She found her in the middle of the room, at the table that was the most visible of the lot. She was on her way there when she spotted Scott and Stiles out of the corner of her eyes. They were alone near the far wall. Beth paused in her step; she had yet to talk to them again after she met them in the woods, as it seemed like they were trying to avoid her. Though she sat in front of Scott in English, he seemed to overhear her whispered questions and both Scott and Stiles bolted out the door as soon as the bell rang. Beth didn't care nearly enough to make a real effort in trying to talk to them, but seeing them sit there was tempting,

"Beth, are you coming?" Allison puzzled voice startled Beth.

She looked at Allison. "Yeah, I'm on my way."

There were only two open seats when they got to the table and Beth was loathe to see that they both meant she had to be in close proximity to Jackson.

The day before Lydia had spent half the lunchbreak coaching Beth in everything there was to know about high school and how to play the whole popularity game. That apparently meant sitting where you were most visible, which she kind of got, and wearing heels, which she didn't get at all.

Beth sat down opposite Lydia and flanked by two guys from the lacrosse team she didn't remember the names of.

"So, I heard you're coming to the party anyway. What happened to family night?" Lydia asked as soon as Allison had sat down. There was a glint in Lydia's eyes.

Allison looked intently down at her food. "Oh, yeah. Uh, Scott asked me, so-"

Jackson, who had been chatting with Danny, swirled around with an angry scowl. "Scott McCall? What are you doing with him?" The hostility in his voice seemed to surprise Allison, who looked up with a start.

"He's my date for the party. Why?" An irritated look crossed her features.

"Because he's a damn fraud, that's why. Don't you find it odd that he's suddenly so good at lacrosse when last year he couldn't even powerwalk without gasping for breath, and now he's like the damn king of lacrosse," Jackson spat and folded his arms across his chest like a petulant child.

"Why are you so angry that Scott is good at lacrosse? Isn't it a team sport?" Allison shot back, adapting Jackson's stance with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Unlike Jackson, she managed to not look like a child two seconds from a temper tantrum.

"Oh, he's not good. He's cheating, and I'm gonna find out how."

"Is this your supervillain speech? It's a bit lacklustre, I think. Where is the thunder?" Beth asked and leaned forward so she could look directly at Jackson.

Jackson barely spared her a look. "Stay out of this." He looked at his teammates around the table. "Am I really the only one who doesn't believe this?"

It seemed no one had the guts to answer him except Lydia, who huffed indignantly and crossed her arms over her chest. "You are the only one who is totally obsessed with him."

The table was silent until Danny, like the angel that he was, broke the tense silence. "So, Beth. Am I correct in assuming that you are from Wales?"

Beth smiled brightly and rested her elbows on the table. "I am indeed from Wales. What an astute observation. You're like a regular Sherlock Holmes."

Danny grinned and bowed, though it looked awkward sitting down like he was. "Then am I similarly correct in my assumption that you don't know how to play lacrosse?"

"How very right you are my good man. But why do you inquire about my lack of knowledge regarding lacrosse? Do you relish in taunting me for my ignorance?"

Danny snorted. "Why do you have a posh English accent all of a sudden?"

"Eh, English accent and pompousness just kind of go hand in hand, don't you think? But why do you ask?" Beth was done eating and was absentmindedly pushing the leftover mac n' cheese into vague shapes on her plate.

"Do you want me to explain the rules? Don't think it'll be very entertaining watching a bunch of dudes running around on a field if you don't actually know what they're doing." Danny had finished his lunch and had pushed his tray to the side.

"Uh, Danny, I love watching dudes running around on a field, especially if it's for no reason. But sure, impart upon me your lacrosse knowledge, please." Beth tried to curtsey though that managed to look even worse than Danny's bow.

In the end, they cleared the middle of the table and Danny used their discarded water bottles and juice cartons for the goal and players. Even Jackson helped explain after he finished sulking.

Now Danny had finished with the actual rules and was just demonstrating different tactics. Allison's eyes had long since glazed over, but Beth was listening with rapt attention.

"So that's the most common tactic, but you can also go for a 1-4-1 offense, where you have the midfielders here and then the attackers back here in a sort of cross position." Danny explained as he moved the water bottles around the table.

"But what's the advantage of doing that, wouldn't it be harder to hold on to the ball like this?" Beth asked, scratching her head in thought.

"Well like this, the two midfielders on the crease can both screen the goalie from attacks and try to set picks to get open, and it's also better for driving because there's more open space," Jackson said and moved a couple of the players to illustrate.

Lydia had been silent the entire time, Beth suspected it was because this was the longest Beth and Jackson had gone without snapping at each other, and Lydia didn't want to break the spell, but now she cleared her throat primly. "I don't want to interrupt your riveting conversation, but we need to talk about the party. Jackson, I need you to come early to help me set it up."

Jackson made an exasperated sound but he wisely did not start to argue.

"Beth, the party starts at eight and I need you to be there by then. Most people won't show up until later, but you need to be there to take pictures, alright."

"Eight o'clock. I can do that."

Just then, the bell rang, and there was a scramble as everyone got up.

Beth held her hand up. "Oh, Lydia, I have a question, actually."

"Beth, put your hand down," Lydia snapped. They stood in line to throw the rubbish from their lunch in the bin.

"What's the dress code? Do I need to bust out my cocktail dress?"

"Do you even own a cocktail dress?" Lydia sighed and looked pointedly at her. It was impressive how she could still look so dignified standing with a cheap lunch tray in her hands next to the garbage bin.

"I do back in Wales, honestly. But what is it?"

"It's casual but please don't show up in your …" she gestured vaguely in Beth's general direction.

"You just pointed at all of me," Beth said with an affronted tone.

"You should probably ask Chloe if you can borrow some of her clothes."

"You're mean. I should break up with you." Beth said with an affectionate smile. She gave Lydia's arm a little squeeze.

"But you won't," Lydia said and her smile was only half-sarcastic.


	3. Party Hardy

**AN: Hey guys! Next chapter! Hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine.**

… … … … …

Chapter 3: Party Hardy

"Remind me again why I took AP Biology," Chloe whined as she stretched her arms above her head.

"I can't remind you of something I don't know. Personally, I would never sign up for more Biology than strictly necessary. I know my strengths and that ain't one of them," Beth said and nodded sagely. It was just after the skirmish and they were sitting in the school library before it closed.

"I need a mantra, something that can get me through this school year, or I swear to god I'm going to run off and join a wolf pack." Chloe swatted her biology textbook and huffed angrily.

"Does this mean you want to take a break?" Beth asked hopefully. Her English homework was pretty straightforward and also utterly dull. She was itching to do something, anything, that didn't have her staring down in a book.

"You are a bad influence on me, you know that? If I fail biology I'm blaming you." Chloe didn't seem to mind being distracted from homework.

"You are not going to fail biology and do you know why? Because you are Chloe freaking Sandoval and you are one of the smartest people I know, and you are not going to let something like biology stop you." Beth nodded once to underline her point.

Chloe laughed and shook her head. "You know, I really needed to hear that. Actually, you've given me so much motivation that I think I might not even need that break."

Beth gasped theatrically and clutched at her heart. "No! I take it all back! You're going to fail biology and there is nothing you can do to stop it. You'll be living in our parent's basement until you turn forty."

"Okay, one: we don't have a basement, and two: that was incredibly mean and I think you should apologise by finding me find a book I need."

"As long as I can get some distance between me and this English assignment then I guess I can do that," Beth said and got up. When she was informed the name of the book and where she could find it, she set off on her search. The library was oddly silent, as it seemed most students avoided it like the plague. Beth had always rather liked libraries so this had been odd until she met the disagreeable librarian who reigned supreme in her own little realm.

She was right beside the biology aisle when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Taking a few steps back, she had to stifle a snicker: Stiles sat by one of the desks, absolutely immersed in his studying. He had a pen behind both ears and one in his hand. He alternated between shaking his head and furiously tapping on the book in front of him with long fingers. It looked like he was whispering something as he frantically grabbed another book beside him.

Beth debated going over there but decided to leave him alone. In her experience, people who were studying as if their life depended on it would likely react in one of two ways if they were disturbed: either they would get righteously furious or break down into a sobbing, panicky mess and Beth didn't feel like dealing with either of those scenarios.

She silently disappeared between the aisles and found the book for Chloe. When she got back she asked her, "do you know Stiles?"

Chloe looked up from where she was scribbling in her notebook. "Nope, can't say I do. How does he look?" She smiled in thanks when Beth handed her the book.

"We have English and Chem together. Buzz cut, a face full of freckles. He's on the lacrosse team, too."

A look of vague recollection crossed Chloe's face. "Oh, maybe I know him. Yeah, he always sits on the bench. He's pretty odd." Chloe waved her hand around dismissively before she returned to her biology homework.

"I'm odd," Beth deadpanned.

"And your confidence makes it endearing," Chloe answered absentmindedly as she scribbled some more.

"He's right over there studying like his life depends on it." Beth leaned back in her chair and craned her neck trying to spot him.

"Maybe he's an overachiever," came the answer.

"After one week of school?"

"I mean, I don't know him. Maybe? But can we please get back to work?"

Beth crossed her ankles and looked up at the ceiling. The only sound was the scribbling of Chloe's pen again the paper. She sighed and looked intently at Chloe, fidgeting in her uncomfortable chair.

"His friend-"

"Oh, my god, Beth!" Chloe whisper-shouted at her, "you are the worst study partner! You can't be quiet for, like, five minutes."

"Fine," Beth shot back, wearily looking around to see if they'd attracted the librarian's ire. "I'll be mum."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her but returned to her homework. It didn't take long before Beth was bored again.

"His friend is Scott McCall," Beth said quickly before Chloe interrupted her again.

Chloe looked conflicted up at Beth and down at her biology book. With a deep sigh, she put her pen down and folded her hands over the book. "Do tell me more."

"I don't know all that much about him. He had asthma which is why he was such a sucky player last year-"

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense. I'm pretty sure I would've remembered someone flipping around on the field like that. So he got better over the break. Good for him. Don't you have any juicier gossip?" Chloe drummed expectantly on her biology book.

"He invited my friend Allison to the party tonight, and Jackson really bloody hates him." Beth smiled at the memory of an absolutely fuming Jackson when he heard that Scott had made first line.

"I still need something better than that. How did he suddenly get so good? Is it steroids?" Chloe's voice was light and even, as if she had just asked if his secret was eating all his Brussels sprouts. Beth threw up her hands. "Jesus, Chloe, I don't know! I've met the guy once when I was out in the woods."

"You met him in the woods?" Chloe's brows furrowed. "What was he doing there?"

"Uh, he was looking for his inhaler with Stiles. It was super weird; I don't know how it ended up out there. I heard him say that there was something wrong with him, so I guess it could be steroids. Poor Allison."

"Why poor- ah, I get it. Very mature." Chloe deadpanned when Beth laughed loudly. The noise drew the attention of the librarian.

"The library is closed now, ladies, so get a move on unless you want detention," she snarled. She stared at them while they gathered their things, and followed them while they left the library. Beth looked at where Stiles had been studying but he was gone.

The car park was totally deserted when they exited the school. It felt wrong somehow looking over the empty cement. Even the spot designated for teachers was empty, like they were as desperate as the students to get away from the school.

As they walked, it felt like their footsteps should echo more than they did. "Hang on," Beth said and fumbled in her bag for her phone.

Chloe signed but waited as Beth opened the camera app and started to take pictures. "Really, Beth? You have, like, a thousand cameras and you take pictures with your phone?"

Beth frowned at her. "I don't usually bring a camera with me to school. Why in the world would I want to document something like that?" Crouching down she fiddled a bit before taking a picture through the leaves of a very stubborn dandelion that had shot through the concrete.

"You done?" Chloe said the boredom evident in her voice.

With a loud groan, Beth got to her feet. "Done," she said. On the way back to the house, she checked the time on her phone. "Shit … alright Chloe, uh, can I ask you for a favour?" She sent Chloe the sweetest smile she could muster.

"This isn't going to end with me looking at weird lumps in places there really shouldn't be any, right?"

"Ew, what kinds of favours do people usually ask you? No! I promised Allison I would come by and help her get ready. She has a bit more riding on this party than I do but if I want to have time to get ready too I'm going to need a lift." She smiled hopefully. "Only to get there. I can walk home, it's fine."

"Actually, I'm going out anyway, I have a presentation with Emma on Monday, and we haven't even started it yet, so sure I can drop you off." Chloe said as she unlocked the front door.

"Hello!" she yelled and was met by silence. Neither Jaime nor Louie was home yet.

"So I don't even have to do anything? No jumping through hoops or cleaning your room for the next week?"

"Shit, alright, you have to-"

Beth interrupted her triumphantly. "Nope, it's too late. You already told me you have to go out, so if you don't take me with you, you're a bad sister." She did a little jig in the foyer. "Clean ya' own damn room."

Chloe threw her hands up in the air with an angry grunt. "You are unbelievable. You know what, I am a bad sister, I admit it. I'm not taking you anywhere." She paused to gauge Beth's reaction. When Beth continued smiling triumphantly, she groaned. "Fine. When do you have to be there?"

Beth shrugged. "Not at any particular time. I just have to get back in time to get ready." She made her voice as sweet as it could get and battered her eyelashes at Chloe.

"Urgh, alright but only if you never look at me like that again."

Beth blew her a kiss. "You are a saint, you are. Okay, I'll get my stuff and I'll meet you down here in five minutes."

"That means you won't be ready before fifteen minutes, and I will have to drag you from your room."

Beth ignored her and ran up the stairs to her room. She unceremoniously dropped her back on the floor and she scrambled around for the stuff she needed. She grabbed her camera bag for her Polaroid and stuffed her phone and wallet into the first empty pocket she could find.

Five minutes later, Beth was waiting for Chloe by the front door. She leaned up against one of the pillars and looked smugly at Chloe, when she finally came down the stairs. "Oh, finally. I've been waiting here an age," Beth said, as she studied her fingernails.

"Yeah, I can see that. Your hair is starting to turn grey." Chloe stepped into Beth's personal space and grabbed a lock of her hair.

"Oh, piss off," Beth said and batted her hand away. She turned to the full-length mirror that hung beside the door and carefully fixed the lock back into place.

"Alright, c'mon." Chloe grabbed Beth's hand and pulled her outside.

The Sandoval house had two garages, which were two garages more than Beth was used to. Not only that, each member of the family had a car housed there. She'd once asked Chloe why she needed a car when they lived just across from the school, but Chloe's reply had been to turn up the volume of the radio.

"You know that there is, like, a half an hour walks back to the house from Allison's, right?" They were sitting in the Chloe's car, driving down a tree-bordered road in Beacon Hills. It seemed like the roads and houses of Beacon Hills were there first, and the forest grew around it, always encroaching on the city.

"I can manage, I think. The walk will do me good," Beth said as she looked out the window on the dark forest that sipped past the window. The thick crowns of the trees shielded the ground from most of the sun, making the shadows seem deeper in between the tree trunks.

"I just hope you can get back and get ready before the party. Lydia doesn't strike me as someone who gladly suffers lateness. She's kinda … scary, I guess. Hey! Stop that!" She leaned forward and slapped Beth's hand away from the radio. "Don't change the channel. I like this one."

Beth inspected her hand from damage with a theatrical frown. "Maybe you don't know this but radios are actually made to play more than one station."

"My car, my rules. When you have a car we can listen to all the hipster crap you want." She flicked the indicator and the car turned onto a brightly lit street.

Beth spluttered. "My crap is not hipster! How can you say something like that?"

The car came to a stop in front of a well-lit house. "Beth," Chloe said, turning toward Beth. She gently took her hand. "You have a Polaroid camera and unironically listen to a band with nothing but a moustache on the cover. You couldn't be more hipster if you tried."

Beth gasped loudly and ripped her hands away. "I have never. The _nerve_. The-the _audacity_." She opened the car and almost fell out of the door. "The sheer _impertinence_ ," she said between stiff lips that were struggling to keep the smile off her face. "I will be awaiting your apology."

Chloe snorted and shook her head. "You'll be waiting a long time, then. Now, close the door so I can get going."

Beth took a step back and slammed the door shut. With a grin and a wave, Chloe started the car and sped down the road.

When the car was out of sight, Beth turned towards the Ardent's residence. She skipped towards the big front door while she admired the house; it was big, but that was sort of Beth's takeaway from the states: big houses and many cars.

It took approximately two seconds after Beth had rang the doorbell until the door opened. A woman with short red hair looked out, but she didn't open the door further. "Yes?" she asked and regarded Beth with a flat stare.

"Hello, I'm Beth Vinther. I'm Allison's friend …" Beth trailed off, unsure if Allison had forgotten to inform her parents that she was coming over.

"Oh, well of course." The woman opened the door more so Beth could enter. Some of the hostility had disappeared but she still wasn't smiling. "I'm Victoria Argent, Allison's mother. You're here to help her get ready for her date." Her intense blue eyes narrowed slightly and crossed her arms in front of her. Beth got the feeling that Mrs Argent blamed her for her daughter's date.

Beth couldn't believe that someone who looked so menacing could be the parent of someone so sweet. "I am indeed." She smiled at Mrs Argent, who did not smile back.

"Are you going to the party too?"

Beth moved her weight from foot to foot, utterly unsure under Mrs Argent's steely gaze. "Yeah I am. Lydia's my friend, so …" she trailed off again and looked around, hoping to spot Allison hiding in the shadows, so Beth could escape the weird third degree.

"Are there going to be drugs there? Alcohol?"

Beth's mouth opened and closed and she tried desperately to find a suitable answer. "Uh, I-I mean, I can't control what the others do, but, um …"

Mrs Argent cocked her head slightly. "Where are you from?" She asked and narrowed her eyes even further.

"I-I'm from Wales."

"Where?"

"It's west of England-"

"Where in Wales are you from?" Mrs Argent's said impatiently.

"Wrex- oh, Allison!" Beth could have wept with relief when she saw Allison on the upstairs balcony.

"Beth, hi!" Allison ran down the stairs and grabbed her hand. "Mom, I'm sorry but we're kinda in a hurry." She tugged Beth along and she had no problem with following. "I though you said you'd be here at six." She said quietly as they walked up the stairs.

"Yeah, sorry. After the game, I went to the library with Chloe and I lost track of time." Beth said as she looked down the bannister at Mrs Argent who was still standing in the foyer with her eyes trained on them.

Allison's room still showed signs of moving. There was a couple of boxes neatly stacked in the corner, and there were swatches of paint on one of the walls.

Beth waited until the door to Allison's room closed before she said, "your mum is rather intense, isn't she?"

The groan from Allison was response enough. "My parents are very protective of me. They weren't enthused when I said I was going to a party. With a boy."

Beth threw herself on Allison's bed and looked at her. "Speaking of this boy," she grinned at Allison, "how would you characterise this as? Is it a date or just a platonic party between friends?"

Allison was standing over by her open closet picking through the content. Some clothes already lay discarded on the floor. She whirled around when Beth spoke, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "It's a … date?" she framed it like a question. "I-I mean I think it is. He asked me if I wanted to go to the party with him."

"Those were his exact words?" Beth asked from her position on Allison's bed.

"Yeah, he asked if family night was a lie and if I'd like to go to the party with him."

"So was it a lie?" Beth sat up a bit so she could look at Allison with narrowed eyes, though her barely suppressed smile made her seem a great deal less intimidating than Allison's mom.

Allison smiled and tucked some hear behind her ear. "Sort of. Look, Lydia caught me a bit off guard and it was my first day."

"Yeah, Lydia can be a bit intense when you first meet her, so I guess I understand."

"But still, you definitely think it's a date?" Allison was back to bouncing on her feet.

"I," said Beth and got up from the bed, "definitely thinks it's a date. You two make eyes at each other entirely too much to make this platonic." Allison swatted at her. "And it's adorable!"

"Stop, please!" Allison yelled and laughed. "Okay, so help me find some clothes for this definitely a date."

··· ··· ··· ··· ···

Beth and Allison stood in front of the big mirror in Allison's room. Beth smoothed out some invisible folds in Allison's blazer. "That boy is a lucky son of a gun," Beth said, doing her best American accent.

The bemused look Allison gave her told her that it wasn't very good. "Uh, thank you," she said and walked over to a jewellery box that sat on the desk. It took some time, but in the end they had found an outfit that was simultaneously date-like while also be casual enough that it would fit in at a high school party.

Beth went back to the bed and flopped down on the covers. She studied the ceiling and said, "Allison, has Scott told you how he became so good at lacrosse?" She looked at Allison who was puttering around the room, doing the last few touch-ups.

"He hasn't mentioned it. Why?"

"Because it makes Jackson furious, and anything that can make him that fumin' has to be repeated. I would relish inspiring that kind of anger in Jackson."

"I guess he just trained a lot over the break. Are you going to do that?" Beth felt the mattress dip when Allison sat down.

"God no, I'm rubbish at sports."

Allison breathed out a laugh. "What are you talking about? You watch more sport than anyone I know. Just yesterday, during lunch, you watched a live stream of a rugby match."

"Ah, but those who cannot do, observe. I think that how is goes."

"It's really not," Allison said with a smile.

"Close enough. Oh, wait." She scrambled off Allison's bed and got out her camera. "We need to capture this moment. Baby's first date." She adjusted some of the dials.

"I don't think I've ever gotten my picture taken with a Polaroid camera," Allison said and furrowed her brows. She scooted over the bed and looked at Beth.

"I reckon that's because it's not 1960 anymore. Smile." Beth quickly took a picture of Allison, before she had a time to get ready. The camera whirred as it created a picture. She quickly stuffed it in a pocket in the camera bag.

Allison snorted. "Was it that bad?"

"The colour has to develop in the dark first. It'll be ready in about thirty minutes." Beth got up and focused on Allison. "For reals this time, give me your best smile." Thus commenced twenty minutes of Beth dancing around Allison's room, shouting vague commands about vogue and tuck and dip while Allison did various poses.

They stopped when there was a knock at the door. Before Allison had time to answer it opened and showed an older man who Beth assumed was Allison's father. He had just as blue eyes as his wife and the same low-key air of menace.

"Hello," he said and smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, "my wife told me you had company. My name is Chris Argent."

"Beth Vinther," Beth said with a little wave.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" He asked and looked at Allison like she was expected to answer.

"No, I should actually get home. What time is it?" She tried to check the clock on her phone but it didn't respond when she tabbed the screen. "Oh, sh- um, do any of you know what time it is?" She winced at them and waved her phone around. "It's dead."

"It's ten past seven," Mr Argent replied.

"Oh, wow. Um, I have to get going right now then." Beth quickly started to pack up her camera.

"How are you getting home?" Allison asked from where she was sitting on her bed. Her eyes went from Beth to her father, who was still standing in the doorway.

"I'll just walk, it's not that far-"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? It's pretty dark outside." Mr Argent looked intensely at Beth.

"Really, it's no issue." Beth had gathered her stuff and all three walked to the front door. Mr Argent stood just by the front door and observed them like a sullen statue.

Allison gave Beth a hug. "I'll see you at the party." She said and squeezed Beth's shoulder. "Thanks for the help."

"T'was nothing. I'm glad to help," Beth said and turned towards Mr Argent, "it was nice to meet you."

He nodded with a smile, which again did not completely reach his eyes and said, "I'm always glad to meet one of Allison's friends. You should come by for dinner with your family one of these days." He opened the door for her.

Beth smiled widely. "That sounds lovely. Thank you." The Argent's were intense but she was never one to turn down a dinner invitation. She waved at Allison and ducked out the door. It was indeed very dark, though Allison lived in a densely populated area, or as densely as it could be in Beacon Hills, so the light pollution helped a bit.

Beth started down the road towards her home. Cars passed occasionally but otherwise it was quiet. As soon as she was out of the neighbourhood, the darkness really fell over her like a blanket. She walked along a pothole-filled road that was flanked on both side by the forest. By day, it looked almost picturesque and mysterious but now it had taken on an unnerving air. It took a minute for her to understand what was wrong. "Where are the birds?" she mumbled and looked around. It was eerily silent. The only sound was rapid footsteps and the wind in the trees.

Picking up her pace, she looked to and from the woods on both sides half expecting something to jump out at her. A bead of cold sweat dripped down her back and she suddenly got the very distinct feeling that something was watching her. "Bugger this," she muttered and with shaking hands fished her phone out, swearing more colourfully when she remembered that it was dead.

The sound of a twig snapping close by had her head snapping towards the sound, and her phone clattered to the ground as they slipped from fingers numb from fear. She tried opening her mouth to speak, call out to whomever it was to piss off, but her tongue, like her hands, had stopped working. Someone had been killed in these woods a week ago and Beth had been stupid enough to walk alone in the dark.

There was definitely something moving in the undergrowth getting closer and closer. Another twig snapped, this one only a few metres away.

She did the only thing she could think of: with fumbling fingers, she got out her camera and held it up to her eyes. Lydia hadn't been lying when she said that cameras were like Beth's security blanket. Just as whoever it was, was lingering on the edge of her sight she pressed the shutter button. The flash went off and black spots appeared on her vision. When she could see again she automatically took the photo and stuffed it in the back pocket of her jeans.

Whatever it was hadn't been scared away from the flash. She heard a low growling that made her reptilian brain go haywire, but her legs were cemented to the ground in fear.

The sound of a car revving up make her jump a foot in the air. Whirling around just as a black sports car came barrelling around a bend. Beth turned back towards the forest, trying to spy whoever it was that gave her the biggest fright of her life, but she couldn't see anything through the thick undergrowth.

The car came to a screeching stop just in front of her. Derek Hale, the only person who could make Beth even more uneasy, got out of the driver's seat.

"Get in," he ordered gruffly.

Had this been any other time, Beth would have repeated with "we're going shopping", but this situation didn't have room for that kind of levity.

"I-I don't think so," she said shakily and took a step back. Her heart was about to leap out of her chest when he took a step closer.

"Get. In. The. Car," he said through clenched teeth.

"Um, my-my dad knows I'm out here. He's waiting for me a-and I'm just going to give him a call."

Derek's frown deepened. "With that?" He asked and nodded towards the ground in front of her. Her phone glinted in the light from the still running car.

She quickly bent down and snatched it from the ground giving it a quick once-over. The screen was cracked and covered in dirt. "He's still waiting for me," she said and took a step back towards the woods. She hesitantly looked back at the spot where the something had been. It wasn't ideal to bolt to the woods, not by a longshot, but Derek Hale was acting decidedly serial killer-esque and Beth didn't want to end her day saran-wrapped to a table about to be killed.

The look that crossed Derek's face made her take a step back, and she slid down into the ditch by the road, cold mud soaking her pants instantly.

Derek snarled at her. "Whatever," he spat and got back in his car. With a roar, it shot down the road and vanished.

Beth shakily crawled out of the ditch and looked after the car. After a beat, she hurried down the road with renewed energy. Now she really had an incentive to get home quickly.

When her house was in view, she broke out in a dead sprint, not slowing down before the front door slammed behind her.

"Beth, what the hell is going on?" came Louie's voice from the living room. He and Jaime were sitting in the couch watching TV, looking equally concerned. "Why are you covered in dirt?"

"Er," said Beth and looked down at her dirt-encrusted trousers. She wasn't completely sure what had actually happened. She felt a bit silly for getting so scared over something that could've been a deer. Or maybe a runaway dog, what with all the growling. She didn't feel stupid for not getting in the car with Derek, that was just a recipe for an early grave. "I fell on the way back. Uh, are there any leftovers from dinner?" She pushed a sweaty lock of hair out of her eyes.

Jaime regarded her with narrowed eyes. "In the fridge, but Beth are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm just in a hurry. I promised Lydia I would be there at eight. In the fridge, yeah?" Beth quickly ducked out in the kitchen to avoid any more questions. When she was done with slurping down lukewarm curry soup she'd heated in the microwave, she hurried to her room and unpacked her camera with care. Her fingers were still shaking slightly, almost making her drop it. Taking out her phone, she ran a finger across the cracked glass. Had it truly just been an animal?

She really didn't have time to dwell on it as she was supposed to be at Lydia's in twenty minutes. She threw her bag on the bed and set her phone to recharge before she ran out across the hall, shredding clothes as she went. After a quick shower, she tore back to her room, still dripping wet.

As Beth was looking through her closet for some suitable, there was a knock at her door. "Who is it?" She yelled frazzled. She stood in her underwear surrounded by discarded clothes.

"It's me," Chloe yelled from behind the door, "can I come in?"

"Yeah, go on," Beth was already back to looking through her clothes. "What do you think?" She asked and held up a sequin-covered shirt to her chest.

"Ew, pass. Actually please pass that right out of the window," said Chloe from her position on Beth's bed. She was already ready and wore a dark red crop top with a matching skirt.

"Rude." Beth shot her a look over her shoulder. Nevertheless, the shirt joined the rest on the floor. "You're just going to sit there and not help me?"

Chloe sighed, but still said, "sure, I'll help you. We can't have you showing up to your first high school party covered in sequins." With a groan like she was 80 and not 17, she got up from the bed and helped Beth find some suitable clothes.

In the end, Beth was satisfied. In the bottom of her closet they found a black, backless shirt ("It's got heating vents!" Beth exclaimed, earning an exasperated look from Chloe) and black jeans with embroidered red flowers on one leg and artfully placed rips.

They stood side by side and looked in the full-length mirror on Beth's wall. Beth pursed her red lips. "You know what this calls for?"

'If you say photo I-'

"Selfie!" Beth yelled and grabbed the camera from her bed.

"What are you even using all these photos for?" Chloe asked, as Beth slung her arm over her shoulder and nearly smothered her with hair.

"Oh you know. Memories. Say cheese!"

"Go fuck your selfie," Chloe said with a mouth full of hair. After the blitz went off, she shoved Beth away. "Anyway, aren't you in a hurry? It's like ten past eight now." She fell down on the bed and looked at Beth.

"Oh, shit." Beth quickly gathered what she needed for the night. She showed her Nikon into her bag.

"You're not going to bring your _hipster_ camera?" Chloe asked from her lounging position on the bed.

Beth stopped and imagined the fit Lydia would pitch if Beth gave her a handful of Polaroids. "No, I'd actually like to be invited to the next party, thanks." As the last thing, she grabbed her phone from the bedside table. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, right, I should probably go with you. Doubt dad'll drive twice."

"Chloe!" Beth whined, "you're not even ready?"

"Relax, I just need my phone." Both girls left the room and Beth went down to the living room, where Louie and Jaime were still watching TV. Their hands laid intertwined between them, and Beth felt a little bad at ruining the moment. "Um, Louie? You said you would drive us to the party?"

Louie turned his head and smiled. "Finally. Jaime's been drinking wine and I've been insanely jealous. I don't think our relationship can handle that kind of pressure." He got up and squeezed Jaime's shoulder as he moved from the couch.

Jaime, in response, lifted his wine glass and smiled. "Have fun," he said gently.

When they rolled up to Lydia's extravagant house, Louie turned around to give them a look. "Now, I know how these kinds of parties are. Believe it or not, I actually used to be a teenager myself." That wasn't so hard to believe as Louie had only just turned forty and he looked ten years younger than that. "There will undoubtedly be alcohol in there, especially if Natalie is out of town which I know she is because she just texted me from the spa she's staying at. Where was I? Oh, yeah. The alcohol. What I am trying to say girls, is … have fun!" He reached out to ruffle Chloe's hair, but she dodged his hand.

"Thank you, Louie, but um, isn't American parents supposed to tell their kids to stay away from the devil's juice and wait until marriage?" Beth said as she undid her seatbelt.

"Huh, I must've missed the memo. Anyway, get out of here. There's a bottle of wine with my name on it at home." He kept revving the car up until both Chloe and Beth were out of the car. The sound reminded Beth of Derek Hale and she looked at the small part of the forest she could see from Lydia's driveway with a worried frown. It seemed like you couldn't escape the forest no matter where you were.

"Urgh, he's so embarrassing sometimes," Chloe said and looked around to see if anyone had heard.

"C'mon, I'm already late," Beth said and led Chloe to the front door. When they reached it Beth went on in without knocking.

Beth had always found Lydia's house just a tad ridiculous, though also very stylish. It was big for two people and a dog but the perfect size for high school parties.

"Chloe!" someone yelled. A group of seniors were standing by the stairs.

"Hey, guys. I'll see you later, okay Beth?" Chloe had already taken a couple of steps toward them.

"Yeah, I'll just find Lydia," Beth said and waved at Chloe, who quickly disappeared into the group of people. Beth went through the house in search of Lydia. She found her out by the pool dancing with Jackson.

With a cheeky smile, Beth took a photo of them both.

When Lydia saw the flash she turned on her heels towards Beth and marched over. "You're late," she said with a measured voice. Behind her, Jackson looked annoyed at having been interrupted at what would probably quickly turn into a Lydia/Jackson snogfest.

"I know, but I had to walk home from Allison's and it took longer than I thought it would." Beth snapped another picture of Lydia, who sighed.

"Whatever. Get a car." With that, she spun around so her red hair hit Beth in the face, and returned to Jackson.

"So I'll just … walk around, I guess," Beth mumbled and began circulating the party, taking a photo every time she saw something noteworthy of being eternalised forever. It didn't take long before most of the partygoers had arrived, and Beth had to squeeze herself through the swaying masses. The music was pounding loudly and she got more annoyed with each beat making her bones rattle. Maybe she loved playing photographer but there came a point where a girl just wanted to party without looking through a lens.

She finally spotted something that made a large smile break out on her face. 'Danny!' The guy in question was standing in the corner, next to another guy that Beth didn't recognise.

Beth clawed her way through the throng of people, apologising on the way to the people she bumped into. "Oh, pardon me, really I am so, so sorry," she said as she accidentally made a guy spill his drink all over the girl he was with, "that'll come out in the wash I'm sure of it," she said, as she wriggled on.

When she finally stood in front of Danny, he was snickering. "That was beautiful. It looked like you were made of smoke, the way you got through the crowd. I don't think anyone even noticed you were there."

Beth turned and looked back at the chaos she'd wrecked. The girl she caused to be spilt all over gave her the stink eye. "Yes, well. You get pushed at parties, that's what happens. I've never not been pushed at a party."

Danny gave her a weird look. "I would like to see the parties you have in Wales; it sounds like a mosh pit."

"I've never actually been in a mosh pit. I don't think I want to though, they look dangerous and I'm a weenie," she said while she took a picture of what looked to be the first casualty of the night: a guy had passed out lying over two chairs and his mates were standing by him laughing their asses off.

"Remind me to invite you to the Jungle next time there's live music. Although you'd need a fake ID."

"The Jungle. I'll remind you. By the way, what are we drinking?" Beth leaned forward and sniffed the red plastic cup Danny was carrying.

He wasted no time pulling it away from her. "I," he said and took a demonstrative drink from it, "am drinking a gin and tonic. And if you want something you can get it your damn self. And preferably now, because I'm on a date and he's coming over." He shoved Beth out of the way of a boy Beth had seen around school.

"As I said, people push at parties. Have fun, Mãhealani," she said and saluted him while simultaneously wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

Beth walked to the kitchen, which had seemingly transformed into a liquor store. She hunted between the bottles before finding some dark rum to mix with coke.

When she got back out to the pool, she found Allison and Scott. They were standing close together, each smiling just as sweetly as the other. Allison made eye contact with Beth and waved at her. She figured she wouldn't totally intrude in the date if Allison was willing to acknowledge her. Maybe it was horribly awkward and Allison needed Beth to whisk her away, although by the starry-eyed look sported by them both that probably wasn't the case.

"How's it going?" Beth asked as she reached them.

They looked at each other and smiled. "It's great. The party, I mean," Allison said without taking her eyes off Scott.

Beth made a face at them but they didn't seem to notice. "Glad to hear it. You mind if I …" She lifted the camera from where it was hanging around her neck.

"No, not at all, that is … great." Scott also seemed to be absolutely lost in Allison's eyes. Beth wasn't quite sure if they'd even heard what she asked. Nevertheless, she took a few steps back until she had a nice shot of them framed by the light from the house.

She approached them again when she was done. "So I'm gonna go … back in the house, I think. You are not really listening to anything I say anyway." She said, a little annoyed at being ignored. Neither Scott nor Allison answered, proving her point.

She was almost inside the house again when she turned around to look at Allison and Scott, who had slowly begun to dance. She was about to take a photo when something drew her attention away. On the other side of the garden, close to the pool shed stood a leather-clad figure staring towards the house. In less than twenty-four hours, Beth had seen Derek Hale twice, and that was something she doubted even his own mother had looked forward to. He didn't seem to notice her as he looked intently at something in the small crowd of partygoers.

Without really thinking it through, Beth lifted the camera and snapped a photo of him. The flash made his eyes snap to her, and in two terrifying seconds, they held eye contact. It was broken when Beth stumbled back into the safety of the house, mostly because the look Derek gave her strongly insinuated that he wanted to leap across the pool and drown her in it.

After her thankfully short staring contest with Derek, Beth found some people to keep her company. She still felt a little shaken, but her heart no longer felt like it was trying to escape her chest.

When she was on the way back to the kitchen for a refill she saw something that made her stifle a giggle. Stiles was hovering around at the foot of the stairs, looking decidedly out of place. He kept craning his neck back and forth as if he was looking for someone.

Beth held her cup between her teeth as she took a photo. The sound of it made Stiles jump up in the air and whirl around on the heels of his feet, almost falling over his own legs.

"You know, I think I should start a series called 'shots of Stiles looking like he's somewhere he oughtn't be.'"

It seemed like Stiles froze to the ground in shock. His already big eyes were even bigger when he looked at her. "Uh-um. You don't think I should be here?" he said, sounding a bit offended.

"Do you? Because it looks to me like you're skulking around in the shadows away from prying eyes, and that will just make you look even more suspicious. If you wanted to blend in you should just go chunder in the bathroom, no one will disturb you there."

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck while casting a furtive look around. "I sort of haven't been invited. Um, Lydia-um, she usually has to know you exist to get an invitation." He bounced on the balls of her feet and his hands did a sort of weird jig with the music.

"Um, yeah I reckon that's a start," Beth said awkwardly, not sure how to really respond to that. "Well, if it makes you feel any better I think she's pretty preoccupied with Jackson right now to notice the odd party crasher." By the crushed look on Stiles' face, it did in fact not help. "Um, hold that thought, yeah? I'm gonna go get us something to drink." Before Stiles could respond, she was off to the kitchen, nearly beaming someone in the head with her camera that swung wildly from her neck.

When she returned with two glasses filled to the rim with whiskey-cola, she found Stiles waiting by the stairs. It looked like he hadn't moved at all. "Here you go," she said as she handed him one of the cups.

"What is it?" he asked and sniffed to the cup.

"Grenadine," Beth said with confidence. She laughed when he wrinkled his nose in disgust. "It's whiskey-cola."

"You know, Beth, you make it very hard to trust you," Stiles said, but he still took a swig from his cup.

Beth grinned at him. "Sorry, I'm just taking the piss." She also took a hefty swig from her cup. The alcohol was slowly making her head fuzzy. "So, we're both third wheeling today?" Stiles sent her an odd look. "Our friends are here with dates and we are left to fend for ourselves," she clarified.

"Have you seen Scott and Allison?" Stiles asked quickly and looked around as if he could somehow spot them. His brows furrowed in worry. His dedication to his friend was touching although probably profoundly annoying for Scott.

"Yeah, they were staring lovingly into each other's eyes out by the pool last I saw them. As far as first dates at crowded high school parties go, it looked like they were having fun."

"Mhm, maybe I should go check on them," said Stiles and moved towards the big double doors.

Beth stepped right in front of him, making Stiles jump back. "Don't you leave me too. They're fine I'm sure. Please, everyone else is here with a date or they're profoundly boring."

Stiles regarded her with narrowed eyes. She could physically see how much he wanted to go find Scott; his closed hands were drumming a beat on his things and she could see his lips moving as if he was debating with himself. Finally, some tension left his body and he leaned against the wall, with shoulders slumped in defeat, which Beth found a little much. It wasn't as if she had strong-armed him to make him stay.

"Besides, I think this is the first time I've ever seen you without Scott in the near proximity. Is this like a rare occurrence?" Beth asked, and leaned against the wall too. They were standing just far enough away to not be bothered by the drunken guests, but the loud music still made them lean slightly towards each other to hear.

"Yeah, it's been Scott and me since we were five," Stiles said. His eyes flickered constantly from Beth's general direction to towards the pool.

Beth gritted her teeth at his divided attention. "Damn," she said and did the best she could to capture his eyes, "I had a childhood friend like that too, but she was eaten by a Welsh Green dragon when we were 10, so …"

That got Stiles' attention. "What are you- that's from Harry Potter," he said, sounding offended.

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were even listening to me. You had this look, this I'm-gonna-go-and-interrupt-my-best-mates-date-to-make-sure-he's-OK look.' Beth sent Stiles a thin-lipped grin.

Stiles' expression went from offended to worried to smiling slightly and back to offended again on record time. "Okay, that's way too specific. My face's not that expressive, I'm like-like a closed book." He crossed his arms in front of him, though the red solo cup and salmon shirt rather ruined the serious expression he was going for.

Beth tried to cover her smile with her hand, but Stiles' mock-insulted look made her laugh out loud.

"Why are you laughing? I'm like a fortress. Impenetrable." He emphasised his words by waving his hand around in an unidentifiable way.

"Um, my moral code keeps me from lying straight to people's faces, so I'm just going to move on. Do you know about bog snorkelling?"

Stiles looked utterly thrown at the sudden change in topic. "Um, no. Can't say I do."

Beth smiled and bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation. Stiles looked like he was about to laugh but turned it into a cough instead.

"Okay, so in South Wales, there's something called Waen Rhydd peat bog, and once annually the world championship for bog snorkelling kicks off. I've been once and it really is an experience."

"How do you snorkel in bog water?" Stiles wrinkled his nose, probably imagining just how smelly a bog could get.

"With great difficulty, I imagine. I've never really fancied jumping face first down in a smelly bog myself. Although, it probably smells just about as bad as the boys' locker room after lacrosse." Beth swirled the remnants of her drink around her glass.

The face Stiles made showed exactly what he thought of the boys' locker room after lacrosse. "I swear, sometimes I can smell it in my dreams. I'd rather we talk about something different than the inescapable smell of boys' locker room."

"Would you rather dance with me instead?" Beth asked lightly.

Stiles' reaction actually made Beth take a step back. His eyes went comically large and he gaped at her without a sound. For once since Beth had met him, he was completely still.

"Uh," said Beth, completely thrown for a loop, "I mean I can go find someone else. I just haven't danced yet because I've been busy with …" she gestured at the camera that hung from her neck. She looked expectantly at Stiles, who remained silent. He rubbed the back of his neck, mouth working to form words.

"I'm just gonna go put this in Lydia's room then-" she said, and gave the camera a little shake, "um, I'll just be … back, yeah?" she quickly retreated to Lydia's room, where she stowed the camera under the bed, away from potentially prying eyes. Stopping before the mirror, she reapplied her red lipstick. The profoundly awkward moment from before made her dread going back downstairs. It was pretty evident that Stiles wasn't used to be asked to dance by anyone, even though Beth hadn't even meant it like … that. She just wanted a dance partner, and both Allison and Lydia were too preoccupied.

When she got back downstairs, she immediately noticed the lack of Stiles. She tried to spot his buzz cut sporting head in the fray, but he'd vanished into thin air. She stood a little unsure if she should go find him when Danny shouted her name from the dancefloor. He enthusiastically beckoned her over, and she joined him and his date on the dance floor.

She wasn't sure how long she danced. Emerging sweaty and laughing from the crowd of swaying bodies, she staggered towards the kitchen to get something to drink. After she had gotten a glass filled with an unidentifiable liquid, she looked at her phone and stopped dead in her tracks. Allison had called her two times and left a voicemail. The music on the dance floor had simply been too loud to hear her ringtone.

Going into the bathroom to have a little privacy, she closed the door behind her. The music was still loud but if she turned up the volume on her phone, she could make out Allison's voice.

 _"Beth,"_ Allison said, and paused. There was muffled talk from somewhere near, and her voice returned _. "I'm just calling to let you know that I've gone home. Something happened with Scott …"_ there was some white noise and Beth's brows furrowed in confusion. _"Urgh, my phone's about to die. But anyway, if you can't find me it's because I left. I've gotten a lift from one of Scott's friends."_ So that was where Stiles went. Beth was immediately less worried. _"I'll see you Monday. Bye."_ An automated voice asked Beth if she wanted to save or delete the voicemail. With a press of the thumb it was gone, and she went out to rejoin the party.


	4. Strange Bethfellows

**AN: Here's another chapter for you fellas. I hope you like the name, because I literally started crying with laughter when I thought of it.**

… … … … …

Chapter 4: Strange Bethfellows

Waking up was nothing short of a harrowing experience. Looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling, Beth opened her mouth and let out a confused groan. It wasn't until she turned her head and saw the slumbering Lydia next to her that she recognised where she was.

There was a weird kind of silence over the house, a kind of quiet after the storm so to speak. The only sound was an occasional sigh from the sleeping Lydia.

Beth felt uncharacteristically well, even though she'd woken up way earlier than necessary on a weekend. There was a bitter, disgusting taste in her mouth and her right foot felt sore as if she had twisted it sometime the night before but other than that, there was a suspicious lack of head-splitting pain.

With a smile, she moved to get out of bed and her optimism faltered; the second she moved from her prone position, nausea shot down from her head to her stomach, like lightning from a discount Zeus. She put a hand up to her mouth as if to physically hold back on the sick that were churning in her stomach.

"Do not throw up on my bed," said a voice, and Beth looked around until the room spun. Lydia was propped up on her bed, head tousled from sleep and a crease on her cheek where she had laid on a fold. It was rare to see Lydia not carefully made up from top to bottom. Seeing her friend like this helped Beth remember that under the snarky exterior and designer clothes, Lydia was a human who got creases on her face just like everyone else.

"Wasn't I supposed to take the guest bedroom?" Beth said after she was sure she wouldn't be sick on Lydia's floor. She warily leaned back against the headboard and folded her hands across her uneasy stomach.

"You were," came the clipped response. "You staggered in here after the last guest had gone home. I'm not actually sure if you fell asleep or passed out. Jackson wanted to drag you outside and leave you in a bush." Lydia stretched her arms above her head and shook her head so her red locks danced around her. She looked entirely too lively this early in the morning and after a party no less. "I tried to wake you but you were already totally gone."

Beth closed her eyes and groaned. The fact that Jackson had been there to witness Drunk Beth climb into bed with his girlfriend was beyond embarrassing. "Well, I'm glad you were there to save my arse from getting hypothermia," she mumbled.

Lydia patted her on the hand. "What makes you think I had anything to do with it? You have Danny to thank for that." She swung her legs over the bed and showed the first sign that she wasn't as unaffected as she looked. Her legs were a bit wobbly as she walked to the vanity and sat down.

Beth groaned louder and hid under a blanket. "Danny was here too? Well, isn't that profoundly mortifying. Wait," she said, and ripped the blanket away so she could fix Lydia with a horrified look, "where's Jackson? God, I didn't spoon him, did I? Lydia, tell me I didn't spoon him."

Lydia looked at Beth in the mirror, while she brushed her hair. She smiled haughtily. "As much as I like watching you writhe in embarrassment, you did not. He went home with Danny after you rudely took his spot. He looked pissed, too, so you better come up with a damn good apology."

"I was unseemly drunk, I'm not sure I can be entirely accountable for my actions."

Lydia put the brush down and turned around in the chair so she could look at Beth properly. "Spoken like a true alcoholic," she said with a sugary voice.

"Alright, I'll buy him a card or something. D'you think they sell 'sorry I climbed into your girlfriend's bed' at the grocer's?"

"After you moved to Beacon Hills I can imagine they'll see an increase in apology cards sales." Beth stuck out her tongue at Lydia, who grimaced in return. "Have anyone ever told you that you literally sleep like the dead? For a moment I thought you'd stopped breathing."

"You are not the first to tell me that. My mum called 999 once when I was 5 because she thought I'd stopped breathing." Beth balanced on the edge of the bed while she fumbled around after her phone, which she found in the pocket of her discarded jeans. The sight of the cracked screen reminded her of the incident on the road, and she looked up at Lydia. She hadn't told anyone about what happened and she could already hear Lydia's voice admonishing her for being scared of what was probably a deer. Maybe it was better to wait until she really was accosted by some kind of cryptid before telling her friend.

Her phone was again courting death by flat battery, but Beth saw the text from Allison before it went out. "Allison says she got home safely last night. Nice of her to check in."

"Yeah, what happened to her and Scott last night? I saw them out by the pool but then …"

"She left me a voicemail that was pretty cryptic, but apparently something happened with Scott and she got a ride home from Stiles."

"Who?"

"And who leaves voicemails in 2011, honestly? Just send a text like a normal person." Beth began the job of shimmying on her trousers from the day before. "I'm famished. Do you want breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure. And since you've enjoyed so much of my hospitality," Lydia said and looked pointedly at the bed, "I think it's only fair that you get to make it."

"Lydia! First, I have to play photographer all night for you, and now you order me to cook breakfast. What am I, a glorified butler?"

Lydia paused in the doorway and smiled innocently. "Glorified?" she said

Beth went downstairs to the kitchen, limping a bit with every second step she took. She stopped dead in her tracks when she rounded the corner to the big open kitchen. It was an absolute disaster zone. The kitchen drain had been clogged with some unknown substance and the kitchen counter was littered with empty bottles and red plastic cups. The smell of alcohol that lingered all over the house was concentrated in the kitchen, where the floor was sticky from spilt drinks.

Very slowly, like someone who knew they had to help clean up, but really didn't want to, Beth started collecting empty bottles and putting them by the white, futuristic looking bin. She pointedly ignored whatever was going on with the sink.

It didn't take long before Lydia descended the stairs, wrapped in a silk dressing gown and with hair still wet from the shower. She scrunched her nose as she overlooked the chaos in the kitchen.

"I really regret staying the night. I know the last one helps clean but goddamn, this is going to take a week, it is!" Beth said from where she was crouched by the fridge. Somehow, a drunk partygoer had managed to wedge an empty bottle of Malibu in the little gap between the fridge and the counter, and Beth was trying to wriggle it out without breaking it. The contents of it were spilt all around the fridge, making everything smell like sickly sweet coconut.

"Yes, well. I'll go buy some breakfast. I don't think this kitchen is suitable to prepare anything right now." Lydia shot the sink a dismayed look, which Beth didn't think was quite appropriate for the level of grossness currently clogging up the sink.

"Yeah, I think you just might be right. Just being in here is a health hazard. I've gotten hepatitis A to Z just from just standing here," Beth said and got up from a crouched position. She carefully navigated through the kitchen, trying to avoid stepping in the goo as much as possible.

While Lydia got ready to leave, Beth took a tour of the house to assess the damage. The kitchen was definitely the worst part, although someone had puked in the bushes next to the pool and she found some discarded male underwear behind a couch, which she promptly shoved as far down the bin as it could get.

Lydia still hadn't returned so Beth went to take a shower in the guest bathroom. After a bit hunting around, she found some fluffy white towels in one of the cupboards. The fresh feeling after the shower didn't last long though, as she had to put on her old clothes from the night before that smelled slightly of sweat and rum.

Lydia returned not long after with bagels and coffee. When they had eaten breakfast out on the terrace - the only place that didn't stink of alcohol - operation clean up commenced, with much whining from Beth. It didn't take a week but it did take them four hours of combined work to make the house presentable again. It wasn't exactly clear if Mrs Martin knew the exact extent of the party or not.

"What do you think happened to the girl in the woods?" Beth asked as she lounged on the couch. She was waiting for her father to come pick her up. "It's quite the way to start the new school year."

Lydia, who sat in an armchair and looked as exhausted as Beth felt – another sign that she wasn't as robotic as some might think – looked up from her phone. "You sound like I had anything to do with it."

"No, no, not like that. But has anything like this ever happened before?" Beth wriggled a bit so she could see Lydia from her prone position. She frowned when she saw Lydia turning her attention back to her phone.

"It probably has, given that this isn't exactly a new town," Lydia said. Her thumbs flew over the screen as she texted like her life depended on it.

Beth waited a moment before sighing and sitting up. "Someone told me that they found animal hairs on the body. What do you think it was?" Silence. Her features scrunched up into an annoyed grimace. "Me personally, I think it was Sasquatch who'd done it." Narrowing her eyes, she waited for Lydia to react. "Maybe he had help from his boyfriend the Mothman. What do you reckon their children would be called? Sasman? Mothsquatch?"

"You think I'm not listening to you, but I am."

"It doesn't sound like it."

Lydia lowered the phone a fraction of an inch. "Maybe that's because I simply. Don't. Care." She shot Beth an annoyed look before she returned to her phone.

Beth huffed indignantly and crossed her arms in front of her. Maybe Lydia didn't care about this, but she did, and the least Lydia could do was humour her a bit. "Oh, sorry. Maybe you'd care more if she'd been wearing the wrong colours or if she was killed by a-a wayward Louis Vuitton."

With an icy look, Lydia put down her phone. "Louis Vuitton. Really, Beth? You can do better than that."

"I think it got my point across well enough. You don't care about anything if it doesn't involve flaunting you status that, by the way, no one's going to care about in five years."

For a split second, there was an unidentifiable emotion in Lydia's eyes before they hardened to stone. "At least people will remember me for something. Why exactly is it you insist on that camera? Is there an actual reason or is it just because you know that is literally the only way people will find you interesting? Let's face it; I think we both know the answer." Her smile was all hard edges.

That hit a nerve. Beth's eyes prickled with unshed tears and her throat constricted painfully. Without another word, she got up and snatched her things from where they had been dropped on the coffee table. Lydia said nothing, having returned to typing on her phone. Stalking out of the room, Beth tried her hardest to keep from crying until she was out of the house. The moment the front door had slammed with more force than necessary, hot tears streamed down her face.

A few minutes later, she was perched on the curb in front of Lydia's house. Rubbed her eyes forcefully, she tried willing the tears to go away before Jaime showed up. She didn't feel like explaining what had happened to anyone.

Just as that thought had ended Jaime's car rounded the corner. With a groan, Beth got up and blinked furiously to get rid of the remaining tears.

"What happened?" Jaime asked her, as she closed the door behind her. He didn't start the car but sat and watched her expectantly. "Have you been crying?"

"Allergies," Beth said miserably and started crying again.

Jaime looked alarmed and grabbed her shoulder. "Beth, did something happen at the party?"

The quivering in his voice made Beth look up. She was used to him being, not indifferent, but passive, or solid or thoughtful. Now he just looked scared.

"Wha- oh god, no. Nothing happened at the party. I just had a row with Lydia is all. Honestly." She placed a hand on top of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You know you can talk to me about anything," Jaime said. There was still a hint of panic in his eyes.

"I know that," Beth said and shot him a kindly smile. "But really, I'm fine."

Jaime shot her a concerned look, but he still started the car and began the drive home. Beth chatted along, trying to convince Jaime that there was nothing wrong. There was, of course, but nothing she really felt like discussing with her father.

When Beth got home, she haphazardly threw her stuff in her room, before she found Chloe and told her everything about the fight. It felt good getting it out there, and Chloe was a good listener, knowing exactly when to curse angrily at Lydia.

After dinner, she sat down in front of her computer, idly munching on some salted almonds, and waited for the computer to finish downloading the photos she'd taken of the party.

After a couple of minutes, the computer dinged, and Beth began the arduous task of sifting through all the photos she had taken and find out which one of them were suitable for eternalisation on the internet.

"Beth, what are you even doing?" she mumbled, as she looked at a particularly bad one. The camera had been crooked when she took it, so the drunk guy in the picture looked like he was standing nearly horizontal. The camera hadn't had time to focus properly so his outline was blurred enough that identification was impossible. "Away to the shame box with you," she sang, and with a couple of clicks, she saved it to a password-protected folder called "sin bin."

A couple after that one made Beth squeal with laughter. She filled her lungs to shout after Chloe, but let it out in a huff when she saw the closed door. There was no way Chloe would hear her.

With a sigh, Beth got up and almost fell over her own feet in the hurry to get to the door. "CHLOE!" she yelled as soon as it was open. The responding crash as something fell to the floor from Chloe's room made Beth wince.

"God, what is it?" Chloe emerged from her room, looking frazzled at Beth, "is something wrong?"

"Oh, uh- I found your new profile picture for Facebook," Beth said with a sheepish grin.

"Are you kidding me? I thought a bear had crawled through your window and attacked you or something." She massaged her heart and scowled at Beth.

"Are there even bears in California?"

"How the hell should I know? And that's not the point. So you almost gave me a heart attack over a profile picture? I'm glad to hear my life means so much to you." Chloe flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned around to head back to her room.

"Not just any picture. Seriously, if you use this I-I swear, people will be all over you. You'd need to beat them off with a stick."

"Ew! Is that really how it goes? But alright, show me, then. Is this from the party?"

"It is indeed," Beth said and returned to her computer.

"Is there any of Felix Gamble? He's the creep that I told you about, the one who called me a whore when I said I didn't want to date him. I want some good blackmail on him when he inevitably tri-oh, my god." Chloe stopped dead when she saw the screen. "Beth, delete it."

"Aw, what? It's hilarious! I'm not going to delete it!"

"Beth! I will frickin' kill you," Chloe screeched, and dove for the computer. In the foreground of the photo was a lacrosse player striking a Captain Morgan pose, but it was the background that was really interesting. Chloe stood behind him with her arms stretched over her head, eyes and mouth wide open like a discount The Scream. It looked like she had been acting out a pretty dramatic looking story, but the camera had only caught that one, unfortunate snapshot.

Beth tried to wrestle Chloe away from the computer, but the older girl had height and strength on her side. She pinned Beth to the office chair and sat on her.

"That's not fair!" Beth squealed and tried to bat Chloe's hands away from the computer. The weight of Chloe was not unsubstantial, but it wasn't enough to make Beth panic. Her overworked muscles stung when she pushed against Chloe's back.

"What is going on in here? Jesus, are you fighting?" came Louie's voice from the doorway. Both Beth and Chloe stopped and looked at him for about 2 seconds before they resumed their fight.

"No worries Dad-I just … got it!" Chloe yelled triumphantly as the computer swooshed, indicating that the photo had been deleted.

"Uh, Okay," Louie said, and shook his head. "Um, Chloe, I think you're suffocating Beth."

"Gerroff!" Beth grunted as she tried to shove Chloe off her lap.

With a long-suffering sigh, Chloe got up and put her hands on her hips. "Next time I won't let you off so easy."

Beth dramatically gulped in air, as if someone had tried to drown her. "You nearly killed me, you did. I think I have a broken rib. Louie, she broke my rib!"

Louie snorted. "Please keep me out of this. I just wanted to make sure you didn't break the furniture."

"Your concern warms my heart."

"I am a saint, I know," Louie said with a smile and retreated from the door.

Chloe snorted and went to drag a spare chair over to the desk. "I think I'd better stay here and keep you in your place, in case you got any more unfortunate pictures."

"Maybe we'll find an embarrassing one of Felix Gamble," Beth said and scooted her chair closer to the computer.

They spent the next five minutes alternating between laughing and cringing at the often mortifying moments caught on film. Beth stopped when they got to a photo of two people she recognised. She furrowed her brow in confusion. "That's weird." On the photo Allison and Scott were facing forward, both wearing a dopey smile. Or Allison was, anyway, but Scott's face was obscured by two big lens flares.

Chloe leaned forward to get a better look. "Uh, that's unfortunate. Looks like the dude's got laser beams coming out of his face. You think he's about to kill Sarah Connor?"

"I don't think the Terminator had laser eyes," Beth said and zoomed in on Scott's face. Even with a lens hood, there was the possibility of flares, especially at night, but it seemed a little extreme, and none of the others was affected.

"Do you know who it is?"

"It's Scott McCall."

"Oh, so that must be Allison. She just started a week ago, right? Damn girl, she moves fast. She already snatched the best lacrosse player."

"Did you know that if you say 'Scott McCall is the best lacrosse player' three times in the bathroom mirror, Jackson will come up from the shower drain and beat you to death with a lacrosse stick?"

Chloe laughed and shook her head. "No, but I want to see that horror movie."

Beth moved to the next picture and paused with her hand hovering over the keyboard. She had totally forgotten Derek Hale, but that wasn't what made her pause: his face, like Scott's, was hidden behind two big lens flares.

"Uh, is it your camera, maybe?" Chloe pushed Beth's hand away and zoomed in on his face. "I don't recognise him. Do you know who it is?"

Beth paused and looked at Chloe. She was a rotten liar but still, she didn't want to worry Chloe unduly. "No, he was just standing in the corner sort of … staring."

"Creepy. He probably wasn't invited because he's the kind of person to stand in the corner and stare." With a flourish, Chloe clicked on the next photo. "Ah, that's better. No flares of any kind."

Beth breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I was actually scared my camera was broken."

It was just past ten when they finished going through the rest of the photos. Beth yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "I think I'm heading to bed."

Chloe sent her an incredulous look. "It's Saturday. What are you, 90?"

"I'm tired is what I am. I spent most of the day helping Lydia clean up after all you hooligans."

"I would've walked home if it meant I could get out of cleaning an entire house. Why didn't you try to sneak out the window or something?"

"Because I'm not a horrible friend. But I mean it, get out." Beth weakly pushed Chloe towards the door.

"Alright, I'm going. Goodnight, Grandma'," Chloe said and waved before she disappeared out of the door.

When Beth finally slid under the covers, she was off to a lovely, dreamless slumber in less than a minute.

··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···

When Beth arrived at school the next Monday she found Allison by her locker. The girl had a forlorn look in her eye as she gathered her books.

"Good morning," Beth said cheerfully, as she went to her locker and punched in the combination.

"Hey," came the unenthusiastic answer.

Beth frowned and leaned towards Allison's locker. "Are you all right? You sound a bit glum. Bad case of the Mondays, eh?" She jumped when Allison slammed her locker closed.

"I don't get boys," Allison said hotly, "I mean, Scott and I were having fun. We were dancing and suddenly he just runs off." She huffed a lock of hair out of her face and crossed her arms.

"Oh, right! That. Um, he didn't say what was wrong?" Beth moved closer, fiddling a bit with her a wayward curl.

"No!" Allison huffed and thrust out her jaw. "He told me that he'd be right back, but then he just took off in his car. I'm sorry for just leaving without saying goodbye, by the way. I tried to find you but- "

Beth waved her apology away. "Yeah, no, that's fine. I don't think I'd want to stay there either. So, he just abandoned you? What a dick move. Lucky that Stiles was there to drive you home."

One of confusion replaced Allison's frustrated look. "Stiles? I-What do you mean? He didn't drive me home. He came by later, though, which was really weird."

"Huh? You said that one of Scott's friend drove you home didn't you?" Beth tried to remember if she had seen Scott with anyone else, but by the looks of it, he only really hung out with Stiles.

"Yeah, his name is Derek."

Beth's mouth fell open and her spine straightened as if she had just gotten a face full of ice water. Derek Hale had driven Allison home. Derek Hale the sour looking, serial killer-esque creep who was frightening enough to almost send her running through the dark forest, had driven Allison home. Had been alone with her in a car.

"Beth, are you-"

"Why would you ever go with him? Allison, that is really dangerous!" Beth's raised voice made some students shoot them weird looks. Beth ignored them.

Allison crossed and uncrossed her arms. "He's a friend of Scott's, so I didn't think it would be that big of a problem. Honestly, he was a lot more normal than you are right now," she said, with a bit of bite in her tone.

Beth, who had been gearing up for a proper tirade, paused and deflated a bit. Allison hadn't had the same weird experiences with Derek, so of course, she wasn't as wary of him. "You said that he was Scott's friend?" That was just as strange as Derek showing up at a high school party at all; a week ago, Scott hadn't even known Derek, though he could have become friends with him since then. Beth doubted it, though, as it didn't seem like Derek was someone who made friends easily. His death stare and brooding appearance must be a pretty big spanner in the works when it came to that.

"Yes," Allison said exasperatedly, "and I'm totally fine. Really." She uncrossed her arms and gestured to herself. "Not gotten eaten by a bear."

It's not the bear I'm scared of, Beth though, but decided against arguing further. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders to relieve some tension. "Alright, then. Just be careful, yeah?"

Allison smiled but it looked slightly strained. "I promise, mom." She said with a fair bit of annoyance in her voice.

Beth remembered that her parents were both overprotective and scary as hell, and Allison probably didn't need her friends start too, so she changed the subject. "Have you talked to Scott at all?"

Allison sighed and shook her head. "No. I kind of ignored his texts. This is more of a face to face deal; don't you think?"

Beth's eyes widened when she saw the object of their conversation walk through the doors and head for his locker. He locked eyes with Beth and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Uh, yeah, Scott's face is right there if you want to give it a go," Beth said and returned to her locker.

Allison froze but she didn't turn around. "Is he coming over here?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"Uh," Beth said and stole a look at the boy. He was facing his locker but hadn't made a move to open it. His head was bowed and he rested his forehead against the steel door. There was no doubt he knew he was in the doghouse. "He's not … he's doing, uh- something with the locker."

Allison, who looked flustered, schooled her face into a stony look. "Let's go," she said and grabbed Beth by the arm, who barely had time to close her locker before Allison dragged her down the hall. Her high heels clicked against the floor and she had a determined look. Beth felt positively bumbling beside her.

It only lasted until they rounded the corner. As soon as Scott was out of sight, Allison deflated and leaned against the wall.

Beth gave her shoulder a little squeeze.

Allison buried her face in her hands. "Do you think I should give him a second chance?" Her voice came out muffled.

Beth leaned against the wall next to her. "I am a terrible judge of character, so you really shouldn't ask me. What I can say is that you two seemed pretty happy when I saw you at the party."

Allison removed her hands and looked at Beth. "I just don't know …"

"Hey, who says you have to decide now? Let him suffer a bit. He deserves it." Beth lightly bumped Allison's shoulder with her own.

Allison smiled sincerely for the first time. "That's true."

The first bell rang, making them both jump. They hurried to class talking idly about anything not related to Scott or Derek or the party.

When Allison came through the door she stopped dead, and Beth crashed into her. She turned around with a harried look. "Switch places with me, please."

Beth looked over Allison's shoulder. Scott was sitting upright in his chair, his big, brown eyes trained on them.

"Um, okay. But then you'll just be in front of him. I reckon it's easier to ignore him …"

"Oh, thank you so much." Allison turned around again and squared her shoulders. She waltzed to Beth's seat and sat down primly, where she studiously ignored Scott, who was trying to talk to her.

When Beth passed him, she narrowed her eyes at him. The look of pure dejection she got in return made her waver, just a bit.

She had barely sat down in the seat before Stiles was leaning out of his chair towards her. The last bell hadn't rung yet, so he didn't really need to whisper like he did. "Are you angry at Scott too?" he asked, and threw his out his arm to keep himself from falling to the floor. Beth, who had leaned out from her chair, too, almost caught it in the face.

"Solidarity," she said, after dodging his flailing limb, "and I'm not happy with you either. You just left too."

Stiles had the grace to look embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around the room. "Uh, yeah. Something came up, uh-"

"Does that something have something to do with Scott?" Beth asked and raised a brow. She had leaned out further, to avoid Scott hearing them talking about him. "What the hell happened?"

"N-no, why should it? I don't know what happened," he said, shaking his head vigorously.

Beth sent him a deadpanned look. "How stupid do you think I am? I have questions for you and-" she gestured wildly at Scott, who seemed to have resigned himself to mope at the back of Allison's head.

"There are no questions! We-uh, we just …" Stiles trailed off and shot a desperate look at Scott's back.

"Wow, who wouldn't believe you with a reply like that," Beth said dryly.

Stiles stared at her with wide eyes and opened his mouth though no sound came out. In that moment the last bell rang and with a sigh of relief he sat back in his chair and got suspiciously engrossed in his notes.

Beth made a sound of frustration but leaned back as well. Leaning her head on her hands, she tried to pay attention as the teacher droned on about Kafka.

At lunch, Beth had done her utmost to forget about Stiles and Scott. When she walked through the door, she remembered her row with Lydia the other day, when she saw the girl in question sitting by the centre table, already with a tray of cheap cafeteria food in front of her. When Beth sat down with her equally as stodgy lunch, Lydia regarded her with a cold stare, before she demonstratively turned around and started a conversation with some lacrosse player. Beth felt a stab of hurt before it was replaced by anger and she turned around to somewhat aggressively talk to Danny.

"So, who are you playing on Saturday?" Beth asked, as she forcefully stabbed a tough piece of chicken with her fork.

"Westerberg High. They're from the next county over. Um, Beth, are you okay? I think it's already dead." Danny looked pointedly at the now shredded chicken.

Beth, too, looked down at her lunch tray. "Double tap," she offered and started eating what was left of her lunch.

"Did something happen between you and Lydia? She didn't seem that mad when you fell asleep in her bed. Which is, by the way, one of the funniest things I've ever seen, so thank you for that."

Beth groaned and hid her face in her hands. "What's funny for you is utterly mortifying for me, so thanks for bringing it up, mate. And that's not it, anyway. It doesn't matter."

Danny leaned forward and shook his head. "Aw, c'mon. You're never anything else than cheerful. Sometimes it borders on the psychotic."

"Did you somehow work psychotic into a compliment?"

"I didn't fully intend it as a compliment, but-"

"-And you've only known me for two weeks, like. And-and, do you really want to know? I mean really? Are you sure you want to be privy to all my girly teenage angst?"

Danny threw up his hands in defeat. "You know what, I stand corrected. Just forget it."

She spent the rest of the lunch chatting with Danny and shooting the occasional angry glare at Lydia.

Allison approached the subject as they were walking to History. "So, I know why I'm angry at Scott. Why are you angry at Lydia?"

Beth sniffed in what she hoped was a haughty way. "It's so stupid, really. I mean, Lydia is stupid, and I'm totally in the right."

"Naturally," Allison said with a small smile.

"We just fought over … just some stuff. But she kept ignoring me today and it just pisses me off." Beth said and threw down her book on the desk with a loud thud.

Allison sat down at her own desk with a little more composure than Beth. She turned around in her seat so she was facing Beth, and rested her chin on her hand. "So how are you going to fix this? It's too early in the school year for this kind of drama."

Beth, who had hidden her face in her arms, peeked at Allison through her curls. "I'm just going to ignore it like any sane, non-confrontational person would do. I reckon she'll forget it in a couple of days."

Allison made a face. "Wow, that sounds really healthy … although I can't say I wouldn't do the same."

Beth straightened up and looked at Allison properly. "It works, it does. I've yet to lose a single friend from something as stupid as a row."

Allison looked sceptical. "Are you saying you've never fallen out with a friend? I don't believe that."

"Believe it, mate. I'm a friend for life. Why, have you left a slew of abandoned friendships?" Beth froze when she remembered Allison's travel history. There was probably a lot of lost friendships on that path. "Ah, right."

"There's the Beth we know and love," Allison said with a laugh.

Beth merely gave her two thumbs up and a meek smile. Fortunately, the bell rung and Mr Westover saved her from further embarrassing herself.

··· ··· ··· ··· ··· ···

"Did you know that leeks are the national symbol of Wales?" Beth asked as she looked around the produce section for the aforementioned vegetable. It was after school and Beth and Louie were shopping for tonight's supper.

Louie stood nearby, digging around in a crate of mangos for the best one. "No, I did not. That's a weird national symbol, isn't it?" He thoughtfully studied a mango before he deemed it unsatisfactory and put it back in the crate. "Choose something normal like eagles or freedom like the rest of us."

"Okay, so it's because- ah, here they are –according to legend, Saint David- that's the patron saint of Wales, you know."

"Oh right, him. I love that guy. He's my favourite saint out of all of them." Louie found the perfect mango and moved on to scoop some potatoes into a plastic bag.

"So Saint David ordered his men to wear leeks on their helmet, to distinguish themselves from British invaders. Have you seen the swedes?" Beth glanced at the assorted vegetables like it was their fault she couldn't find her quarry.

"They're in Sweden where they belong."

"Hardy har har. You know, I'm inclined to agree with Chloe: you're not funny and you should probably stop before someone gets hurt." Beth said and smiled cheekily at him.

Louie grabbed a couple of swedes from where they were wedged between the wall and a crate of artichokes. "My humour is amazing, it's just that you need a more developed brain to fully comprehend it. Science. You'll understand when you get older," he said and tried to ruffle Beth's hair, which she quickly dodged.

"Since you're not technically my parent can I swear at you?" She asked innocently.

"No, because if you do then I will tell someone who is definitely your parent, and you'll get grounded." They moved on to the butcher section, where Louie ordered some lamb.

"Maybe I'm just acting up. Isn't that what teenagers are supposed to do?" Beth checked her shopping list for any ingredient they might have missed. "I'm being mean to my dad's new husband. And- and also, I just had to change schools and my mum is marrying some new bloke. I think I'm entitled to a little rebelliousness." She leaned against the trolley in a nonchalant way. It looked less nonchalant when it started to roll away from under her and nearly flattened a kid who walked past with a carton of milk.

After she was done profusely apologising to the kid and his mother, who glared daggers at her the entire time, Beth turned around to look at a snickering Louie. "Thanks for the help, mate. Now I might rebel for real."

Louie got his snickering under control as they moved towards the registers. "Speaking of, what do you think of this new bloke?" He said it in a weird nasal way, which Beth suspected was his British accent.

"Anthony? Uh, he's fine. Not really much to say about him," Beth said and shrugged. The movement looked weird with the way she was slung over the trolley's handlebar. Her stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought of that whole mess.

"Your mom seems really happy. Wait, hold up." Louie disappeared down an aisle and came back a minute later with some laundry detergent.

"You talked with my mum?"

"I talk with Jaime who talks with your mom. Even more now after you moved here." Louie sighed when he saw the massive line in front of the two open registers.

"Yeah, they just got this new swanky flat. He's a banker, and I don't mean, like, just a normal bloke working at the tills, I mean a real and true capitalist one percenter. But a Welsh one percenter, which is not as impressive as an American one."

Louie mock gasped and covered his mouth with his hand. "You're lucky you made it out before Mr Fat Cat got his fat cat claws in you."

Beth snorted. "You make him sound like a moustache twirling villain in a kid's film. He's pretty normal. Just boring." He was normal and he made Anna happy, and that was what was most important, Beth kept telling herself.

"Urgh, boring? That's even worse!" Louie said and gave Beth's shoulder a friendly squeeze. "But, and I think I can speak for Chloe too, we're really happy that you're here. But only if you make us delicious dinner, so no pressure."


	5. Lacrosse the Line

**AN: Hello and welcome to chapter 5. This chapter took an age to edit because my laptop shut down when I was almost finished, and I'm an idiot who doesn't save. I hope you guys appreciate the effort it took to make this thing presentable.**

 **I've made an aesthetic mood board for Beth, and you can find the link on my profile. I've also listed the face claims for Beth and co.**

… … … … …

Chapter 5: Lacrosse the Line

When the bell rang, signalling the end of school, Beth wasted no time fleeing from her accursed maths class. Her teacher tried to shout the assigned homework over the commotion, but nobody was listening. Least of all Beth who was zigzagging down the hall, getting jostled every step towards her locker.

Allison stood by her locker, rummaging through her book bag but without really seeing the contents.

"Fancy seeing you here. Come here often?" Beth asked as she punched in the combination to her locker. Decorated inside was various photos, most of them selfies with people whose expressions ranged from cheerful to annoyed. One of them showed a smiling Beth and a surprised, clay-covered Jaime.

Allison blinked and looked up. "Hey Beth."

"Not closer to finding out what you're going to say to Scott, eh?" Beth asked, as she messily stacked her books at the bottom of the locker. She slammed the door before they could topple out.

"Not even a little bit." Allison shot a look at the boy in question's locker. "Doesn't everybody deserve a second chance?"

Beth shouldered her bag. "Sure, I guess."

"So I should give him a second chance?"

Beth shouldered her bag and said, "If you want to then sure."

"Beth!" Allison apparently heard how whiney she sounded because she frowned and gave herself a little shake. "I'll give him a second chance. I kind of miss talking to him." She flashed a small smile and started walking with Beth towards the exit. "But. But!" She gave a little jump and looked at Beth. "Only if you give Lydia a second chance, too. Or-or forgive her. What did you say the fight was about?"

Beth grimaced and folded her hands across her chest. "Negotiating doesn't work when you don't have anything I want. I don't really care what you do about Scott. Wait, I mean I do care that you do what makes you happy. Sorry."

"Well, what makes me happy is to give Scott another chance, but I won't do that unless you talk to Lydia. So there."

"You manipulative bastard, you!" Beth laughed and shook her head. "Very well, Argent. I'll do this, but only for you. I think Lydia's at lacrosse practice, actually. If Jackson goes more than an hour without getting praised, he'll spontaneously combust. Being a wanker isn't like a lacrosse thing, is it? Because then I might change my stance on the whole 'give Scott a second chance thing.'" She pushed open the door and held it for Allison.

"Um, didn't you just say you wanted me to be hap-thank you."

"Not at the expense of my own happiness, sorry. I like you but not that much." The Californian sun was bearing down on them as soon as they stepped outside. The heat, which had been nice at first, was quickly become a nuisance. "You want to come with me?"

"I can't, sorry. My dad's picking me up," Allison said, nodding towards a red SUV parked in front of the school. Mr Argent was leaning against the door. When they looked at him, he waved. "I'll talk to Scott tomorrow before class. No harm in letting him sweat an extra day."

"Huh, even though I'm all for making boys suffer, you could also just talk to him now." Beth stopped and pointed stealthily towards Scott. Evidently, it wasn't as stealthily as she thought, because Allison quickly slapped her hand away. He sat on a bench that bordered the main path, already clad in his lacrosse gear, and a look of distress on his face.

Allison turned around so she stood with her back towards Scott, in case he'd glance over. "So you think I should go talk to him?"

"Allison we literally just had this conversation! Go talk to him. I'm off to find Lydia. Go!" Beth tried to shuffle Allison along, but she was surprisingly hard to push. "Wow, your core strength is amazing."

"Alright, I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow." Allison waved a hand goodbye and strode purposefully towards Scott. As soon as she neared him, he jumped to his feet and followed her as she powerwalked by. Beth stayed around to watch them but they were already too far away to hear. When Allison glanced her direction, she gave her two thumbs up.

With that whole spectacle over, Beth walked to the lacrosse field. It was mostly empty, save for Coach who ran around dropping orange traffic cones at what looked to be random intervals.

It didn't take long to find Lydia on the stands. Even if her glossy red hair didn't give her away, her easy confidence made her stand out in a crowd even doing something as mundane as checking her phone.

Beth took a moment to swallow her pride, not an easy thing to do. With a sigh, she went over and plopped down beside Lydia, who eyed her with clear distaste.

"Hello Lydia. Uh, nice weather, innit?" Beth kicked out her legs, nearly hitting the guy in front of her in the back.

Lydia sniffed and studiously studied her phone.

"Come on Lydia. You're really ignoring me? I would expect that from me, but that is way too childish for you. I thought you had snubbing people down to a fine art. You don't ignore people; you expertly exclude them until they crack."

Lydia finally looked at her but the look of legitimate anger on her face made Beth cringe. They stated at each other for an uncomfortable amount of seconds before Lydia returned to her phone.

They were silent for a beat before Beth cleared her throat. "Right, so you're still mad at me. So, I'll just do the talking, how does that sound? I'm good at that, as you know." She waited for an answer but Lydia was clearly not inclined to respond. "Okay, so … we both said some things we might regret. Some worse than others." She could see that Lydia was listening. She was still typing on her phone, but it was considerably slower than before. "I realise that, in the heat of the moment, we both said some … let's say not very kind stuff, like basically comparing you to Heather Chandler, which is, yeah. Not very nice. What I mean to say is that I know you're not stupid. Uh, and I would appreciate you saying something because I'm starting to panic here."

Lydia turned in her seat and regarded Beth with a guarded look. At least it wasn't as angry anymore.

"Heather Chandler? Really? That's the first mean girl that comes to your mind? What about Regina George, the actual Mean Girl?" Lydia pursed her lips, and Beth decided it was because she didn't want to smile.

"I watched Heathers with Chloe as a way to prepare myself for American high school."

Lydia shook her head with a mere hint of a smirk. Beth silently congratulated herself for getting her to show any emotion other than anger or disinterest. "That's an awful choice."

"Take it up with Chloe; she was the one who picked it."

Lydia rolled her eyes and returned to her phone.

"So, um. I'm really sorry. I lacrossed the line."

For a split second, Lydia's lips quirked up, before she schooled her face back into a careful mask.

"Does that mean you … accept my apology?"

Lydia looked thoughtful for a moment before she nodded once.

Beth looked expectant for a few seconds before she said, "but I'm not getting one in return?"

Lydia shot her a pointed look, although it lacked the hostility from before.

"Well, it's like the good book says: you can't always get what you want," Beth said a little weakly before she turned her attention to the players who had started warm-ups.

"You still have the photographs from the party," Lydia said after a couple of minutes.

"I totally forgot about that. I was going to hold them hostage if you still ignored me."

"Oh right, I'm the childish one. Are they any good?" On the field, Coach blew his whistle hard and screamed something unintelligible.

"You know, after the party, I actually found out I'd forgotten to take off the lens covers. Crazy right? So they might be a tad dark."

Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes but it looked to be more for dramatic effect than actual exasperation.

Down on the field, Jackson took defence in front of the goal and the players lined up to try to get a shot in. There was a lull in the game when it was Scott's turn.

"McCall, what are you waiting for? Let's go," Coach yelled across the field. Scott – whom Beth only recognised because of the eleven stamped on his chest – moved forward in a slow jog. When he reached Jackson, he didn't even have a chance to swing his stick before they slammed together and Jackson disposed of him on the ground.

"Ouch," Beth winced, when Scott didn't get up right away.

Beside her, Lydia sniffed. "He's fine. They wear a ton of protective gear for a reason. Besides, if he wants to suck it's better that he does it now instead of at the game."

Scott stood up but he was doubled over as if he was trying to catch his breath. Finstock was bending down to give him what was probably a bizarre pep talk, before sending him to the front of the line.

Scott and Jackson stared each other down like two cowboys from an old western movie. "Who knew watching people practice was this exciting?" said Beth to no one in particular.

Finstock blew his whistle and Scott shot forward. If Beth had been in Jackson's place, she'd be pissing herself in fear of the walking spinal injury thundering towards her, but Jackson was evidently made of stronger stuff. Scott and Jackson slammed together yet again, but this time Jackson went down. Even from the bleachers, Beth could hear his pained grunt as he grabbed his shoulder.

In an instant, the entire team surrounded their fallen comrade. All except for two. Beth looked with narrowed eyes at Scott and Stiles, who were racing towards the school, although Stiles did most of the running, dragging Scott behind him. Was he hurt, too? Then why was he running away instead of staying and getting help from the coach?

Beth's train of thought was interrupted when she saw the person she'd least want to see again: Derek Hale was standing by the lacrosse field, looking like a bad-tempered Instagram model. She turned away from him, lest he'd caught her looking at him.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she asked, looking at Lydia, or rather where Lydia used to be. She was halfway across the field by the time Beth had gathered her stuff to run after her.

When Lydia reached the team, they wordlessly parted for her like the red sea. Beth got a glimpse of Jackson on the ground before they converged again and she had to fight through a crowd of bulky boys in bulkier uniforms.

When she could see Jackson again, he was sitting up. That was good, so at least his spine hadn't been snapped in half. Someone had removed his helmet and his pained grimace was on full display. Beside him crouched Coach, Danny, and Lydia, each wearing a worried frown, and Lydia was holding his hand in what looked to be a painfully tight grip.

"Jackson," Coach said in a surprisingly soft voice, "I need to see your shoulder real quick. HEY EVERYBODY!" He barked, "GIVE HIM SOME SPACE FOR GOD'S SAKE."

When Coach gently moved his arm, Jackson grunted and the tendons in his hand showed as he gripped Lydia's hand even harder. Lydia, to her credit, didn't show her discomfort at all except for a tiny wince that Jackson was too preoccupied to notice anyway.

They stood in silence for a few minutes and while Coach carefully examined the arm.

"It's dislocated all right," he said with a sigh and gave Jackson a clap on the back, which made Jackson whine in pain. "Get to the ER ASAP. Danny, stay here. Everybody else!" he yelled, making Beth jump out of her skin. None of the team members reacted, and she reckoned they were used to their coach's antics. "Hit the showers! Practice is over."

The players shuffled towards the school, leaving Beth standing a few metres from Jackson. She wanted to say goodbye to Lydia but before she could, Coach turned towards her.

"You," he barked, "get back to class."

"Um, school is over for the day," Beth said tightly. She waved at Lydia to get her attention, but she was too preoccupied with watching Danny help Jackson on his feet without jostling him too much.

"Then get off the property. Go to a mall or whatever you kids do." Coach waved her off and returned his attention to Jackson, who tried to stifle his whimpering.

"Uh, right." She waved awkwardly at Lydia and turned around on stiff legs. Walking back to towards the school, she stopped periodically to look at the small group still huddled on the pitch. Jackson may be a dick, but she still hoped he would be OK.

… … … … …

Lydia was in a foul mood that Friday leading up to the game. The cause of her mood was no secret, as she had been ranting about it all morning until even the good-natured Allison had had to excuse herself from lunch to get away from it. Beth and Lydia had planned to go shopping after school but Beth honestly contemplating faking a sickness to get out of it.

With a flick of the hand, Lydia made a thick, red line across her canvas. They were in art class, which Beth normally liked, but now she was contemplating showing a paintbrush through an eye to distract herself from the angry tirade. It didn't necessarily have to be her own eye.

"We need to get Allison to talk to him. I tried to use her as blackmail but apparently-" Lydia scowled at her canvas"-he doesn't care enough about her."

We? There definitely wasn't any we involved, although Beth knew if she pointed it out to Lydia, she would be on the receiving end of her wrath. "So you've moved on to the 'use your friend as blackmail' part of the relationship. That's lovely." While she wasn't about to outwardly oppose Lydia, she didn't want to give her the impression that she wanted anything to do with the ridiculousness.

"Honestly Beth, where's your school spirit?" Lydia had returned her attention to her painting and was trying to cover up the red streak with careful brushstrokes.

"I've only been here for two weeks! My school spirit builds up like radioactive waste. Give me a couple of months and I'll go nuclear, I promise." She shot Lydia a wide grin. "Ha! Nuclear Vinther." That earned her a scoff and an eye roll.

Beth took a step back and critically regarded her own painting. She hadn't inherited her father's skills but photography had given her excellent spatial understanding.

Lydia made a displeased sound. "I thought you of all people would understand. You said, and I quote: 'I would miss my best friend's wedding if it meant I could see Pro14. Whatever that is."

"Okay, one: that was an excellent Welsh accent and you should be really proud of that, and two: I'm certain that Scott has an excellent reason not to play this weekend! Not that he'd ever care to explain himself," Beth added mostly to herself. "And besides, the team's managed the last two years without Scott; I don't think it'll fall apart without him after one game. You still have Jackson."

"It wouldn't have been a problem if Scott hadn't maimed him-"

"Don't you think you are exaggerating a little? He has a sore shoulder, right? I think his pride is the one that's hurt the most." That was true. The only one saltier than Lydia had been Jackson, who had been angrily snapping at whoever so much as looked at him even more so than usual.

Lydia huffed. "That reminds me, we have to go to the hospital after school. Jackson needs a cortisone shot before the game. It won't take long."

Beth stopped painting and shot Lydia a look. "Seriously? Can't you pick me up afterwards? I don't really fancy going to the hospital with Jackson. In case you haven't noticed, Jackson is this close to snapping and killing someone and I'm a prime target."

Lydia rolled her eyes and sighed. "If you don't want to be dragged around then get a car yourself. I'm not driving a huge detour just because you don't like hospitals." Her voice left no room for arguments. "Jackson can't drive himself because he was maimed-" she looked sharply at Beth –"by McCall."

Before Beth could answer, the bell rang and everyone got busy cleaning up their station. Beth and Lydia were standing in line to clean their brushes when Beth said, "for your information, I am actually getting a bicycle so I won't be relying on you for transportation for long."

The resulting sound from Lydia made clear what she thought of that.

When it came time for going to the hospital, Beth considered faking her own death to get out of being confined to a small space with the angriest couple on earth. Lydia had calmed down a bit but Jackson was still fuming mad, and they bickered the whole way to the hospital. For once in her life, Beth was glad that she was being ignored.

"I am not going out with McCall after the game, forget it," Jackson said through clenched teeth. He sat on the passenger's side with his arms crossed, looking like a petulant child. Beth found it best not to remark on that.

Lydia sighed and gripped the wheel with more force than necessary. "I'm not telling you to go on a date with him. We're all going out. Beth will be there too." Jackson turned around in his seat and shot her an icy look.

"I-I guess so," Beth said meekly, not having heard about that little outing before now.

"I don't care who'll be there, I'm not going. That loser isn't even playing anyway."

"Oh, yes he will," said Lydia, sounding vaguely threatening. "He is playing because he doesn't want to lose Allison and you're playing because you don't want to be stuck in this town forever." Lydia flipped her red hair over her shoulder in that primly way that, for the people who knew her, meant not to contradict her.

Jackson did not heed the warning and snorted loudly. "McCall is a coward, and you're overestimating how far guys will go for some pu-"

"Jackson!"

"Hey!" Beth glared daggers at the back of Jackson's head. She'd only known Allison for a short while, but already she had a deep respect for Allison, and besides, no one deserved to be talked about like that. Scott she knew less but he seemed like he really cared for Allison.

Jackson seemed startled by their outburst, but from where Beth sat, he didn't exactly look ashamed. "I only meant," he bit out, "that McCall is a self-serving loser. Now he has to be a big boy he taps out like a little bitch."

When they got to the hospital and located a spot in the overfilled car park, Lydia slammed on the breaks a little harder than necessary. She got out of the car and wordlessly flounced towards the front doors. Jackson followed after and Beth made up the rear. She glared at the back of Jackson's head and hoped that that cortisone shot would really hurt.

They sat in the waiting room stewing in tense silence.

Jackson sneered. "If they don't hurry up in there I'm going to contract-" the rest of his sentence was swallowed by a loud, hacking cough. The look on Jackson's face would've been priceless if Beth hadn't also been slightly scared of catching something from the sick people around them.

A doctor came through a door nearby and consulted her clipboard. "Jackson Whittemore," she called sounding impatient. There was a rustle of air as the people in the waiting room let out a collective exasperated sigh.

When Jackson disappeared around the corner, Beth turned towards Lydia. "Can you believe he said that-" she stopped when she saw Lydia had just clipped a Bluetooth headset to her ear. She didn't even seem to register that Beth was sitting right there.

"Yeah, hello? This is Lydia Martin. I'm calling to check my order I made five days ago." She caught Beth's unimpressed stare and lifted a carefully shaped eyebrow.

"That's very 2001, that is," Beth mumbled and got up. Leaving Lydia to her business, she started roaming around the waiting room.

Beth didn't dislike hospitals, or rather, she had no real opinion about them. Having been lucky enough to avoid a hospital visit, the only time she had ever visited someone in one was when her mother fell and sprained her wrist.

Her shoes squeaked on the white linoleum floor and the air smelled slightly of disinfectant. Around her people bustled to and forth but from the many jumbled voices, no one sounded like they were in mortal peril. Close to the waiting room, she found a vending machine offering packs of crisps and empty calories. She was considering what to get when a shout came from the end of the hall. She turned around just as a gurney rounded the corner. It was pushed but no fewer than five people, three of them in white lab coats. On the gurney lay a person but it was impossible to discern other features, as whoever it was covered in blood and gold foil. One of the doctors was pressing a blood-soiled bandage to the person's forehead.

Beth stood stock still as the macabre sight bustled past her and disappeared through a door labelled ICU. She stared at the door, too unnerved by the sight to move from the vending machine. Her overactive imagination tried to come up with what had happened to the person to make them look like that but that train of thought quickly became too morbid to consider. Abandoning the vending machine, she moved back towards the waiting area.

Lydia was still talking on the phone, so Beth loitered around, craning her neck to see if Jackson was finished. She had just come back from the bathroom when she heard a voice.

"Hey Lydia." She recognised Stiles's voice. He hadn't seen her standing behind him and she was about to open her mouth to greet him when he continued. "You probably don't remember me. I sit behind you in Biology."

Lydia fiddled with her hair, looking around with unfocused eyes. She was clearly listening to someone on the Bluetooth headset.

Beth extended her hand to tap Stiles on the back when he said something that made her stomach clench in second-hand embarrassment.

"Uh, anyway," Stiles continued, with a forced casualness, "I've always thought that we had this kind of connection. Unspoken, of course."

Beth's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth with her hand to clamp down on the shrill giggles bubbling to the surface. Ever since she was little she'd reacted in two ways whenever she was faced with such a mortifying situation: either cry or laugh hysterically. This time it seemed to be the latter.

Stiles, seemingly encouraged by Lydia's polite but empty smile, continued, "Maybe it'd be kinda cool to … get to know each other a little bit better." His head bobbed up and down.

Behind him, Beth was frozen to the ground in sheer embarrassment. She had to use both hands to pinch her lips together to keep from laughing out loud. Lydia hadn't heard any of it. Lydia hadn't heard any of it! She was probably still talking to some store clerk, happily ignorant of the excruciating declaration that just went down in front of her.

Stiles realised that too when Lydia pushed back her hair and revealed the headset. "Hold on, give me a second," she said to the person on the line. Finally, she regarded Stiles with a proper look. "I didn't get any of what you just said, was it worth repeating?"

That was probably the worst thing she could've said. There was a beat of silence where Stiles' mouth seemed to catch up quicker than his brain. He fumbled with his words until he finally settled on a breathless "no. Sorry."

Beth wanted to run and hide and pretend to have never overheard what he said. It seemed like a very intimate thing to witness and she didn't even know Stiles.

Before her feet registered the command from her brain, Stiles turned around and they locked eyes. His mouth dropped open in surprise and the blush that coloured his cheeks seemed to get darker. There was an uncomfortable length of silence where they both seemed frozen to the spot. The hurt look in his brown eyes made Beth's inside squirm uncomfortably. A snort escaped her hands and the sound seemed to snap Stiles out of it.

"Oh, um … I-I'm just gonna …" he flapped one hand loosely towards the exit while the other furiously rubbed his hair. Beth didn't trust herself to speak but she waved half-heartedly at him and watched him walk down the hallway. He nearly fell over his own legs twice before he rounded a corner and disappeared.

Turning around on stiff legs, she walked back to the bathroom. Getting there, she didn't feel like laughing anymore but took a minute to compose herself. Her heart was beating fast and she took a couple of deep breaths and looked in the mirror. Her own blush-tinged self looked back at her.

When she came back, Lydia and Jackson were locking lips in the waiting room.

"Do you two need a room, maybe? I'm sure they can find some nook for you somewhere. Maybe even a bed," Beth said jovially, as she stopped beside them. She still felt a little jittery after witnessing Stiles embarrassing himself

They broke apart and Jackson scowled at her. "Where were you? We almost left you behind."

"Call of nature," Beth said and curtsied in what she hoped was a sarcastic manner, which made Lydia roll her eyes.

"Come on," she said a bit testily. "Or maybe I'll leave you both behind." Without waiting for them to answer, she turned around and sashayed down the hall towards the exit.

It felt like it took forever but Jackson was finally dropped off at home (in considerably better spirits than before), and eventually, Beth and Lydia arrived at the mall. Lydia wasted no time steering Beth towards a newly opened boutique and going through the first rack of clothes she saw, giving each piece of garment a critical look before putting it back.

Beth shifted through another rack of clothes at a more leisurely pace. The entire mall was teeming with people having just gotten off work or school. "Are you looking for something in particular or are you just trying to shop your feelings away?" Beth asked and grinned cheerfully over the top of the clothing rack.

Lydia harrumphed but didn't look up. "Don't interrupt me when I'm trying to shop for two." She nodded briefly to herself when she found an acceptable blouse and added it to the growing pile on her arm.

"Uh—do you and Jackson have something you'd like to tell me?"

Lydia looked up and give her an unamused look. "I'm trying to find something for you, sweetie, something which description doesn't contain the word 'distressed.'"

Beth looked down at her trousers, which were indeed ripped at the knees. Even though Lydia had never held back in criticising Beth's clothes, she'd never said anything about the rips and tears. "Uh, Lydia? Is this because of the argument? Because you don't have to-"

"No it isn't," Lydia snapped. "It's for tomorrow after the game, when I'll introduce you to the team. You and Allison." She picked up a dark green dress and added it to the pile.

"Oh, good, it's not like I don't see them a lunch every day."

Lydia made a noise. "You know what I mean. You can meet them properly and also look ridiculously hot. It never hurts to have a few options."

Now it was Beth's turn to make a noise. "Uh, well, I don't think any of the players are really my type, sorry. Except for Danny of course, but I think there are some fundamental problems there that we just can't work through."

"What is your type anyway? You've never talked about dating anyone in Wales."

"That's because I didn't. Didn't really feel it, I guess. I did kiss Lauren Patel once at a party but all I could think about was that time in Year 3 when she ate an earthworm and had to go to be excused from school for a week."

Lydia pulled a disgusted face. "Ew," she said and shook her head. "I guess that can take the romance out of anything. What's your type, then?" They had slowly gravitated towards the changing rooms. When they got there, Lydia dug through her pile of clothes to find the pieces for Beth.

"Lydia, I really don't need you to try to … set me up, or anything," Beth said, as she was laden with what felt like several pounds of clothes. "I've just moved here; I think I want a bit more time to – uh – settle in." She nearly fell over her own feet as Lydia ushered her into a changing room.

"Allison just got here and she's dating Scott," came Lydia's voice from the stall next stall over.

Beth slipped off her blouse and held a powder blue sweater up in front of her. It looked nice when she found it, but now it looked rather weird and lumpy. She discarded it without even trying it on.

"Yes, well, that is also sort of surprising, really. She doesn't seem like the type to move so fast but I guess it's good for her. That doesn't change my answer, though."

Lydia tsked, but dropped the subject. They talked about school until Beth reached the dark green dress Lydia had picked out for her. It went to her mid-thigh and was a little too form fitting. It tightened a little uncomfortable around the chest when she breathed too deeply. It was pretty, though.

"The dress is nice," Beth remarked, examining herself from every angle. "Just a touch too fancy for a high school lacrosse game, yeah?"

There was a scoff from the stall next door. "It's not the event that makes the clothes, it's the clothes that make the event," Lydia trilled. "Get in here so I can see it."

Beth got out of the stall and tiptoed over to Lydia's stall, making sure her feet touched as little of the stone floor as possible. She found it weird walking barefoot in public like there were germs not found in houses, being trod into the floor by thousands of strangers' shoes. In all reality, the floor was probably cleaned more often than in Beth's bedroom.

With some degree of difficulty, Beth squeezed herself into the tiny stall, which was definitely not built for more than one person. Lydia backed up until she pressed against the mirror to get a good look at her. She hummed thoughtfully, like an art appraiser in a museum and twirled her finger in the air to make Beth turn around herself, which she did even though it made her feel like a living mannequin.

"This looks really nice. You should get it," Lydia said and turned around to pull on an almost see-through white top, which, paired with the black suede skirt, it didn't look half-bad. Somehow, even though Lydia had had a way bigger pile of clothes before they went in, she was almost through with hers.

Beth nodded and looked at herself in the mirror, at least what she could see that wasn't obscured by Lydia. "Maybe I will," she said and ducked out of the room again.

When they were standing by the cash register Lydia plucked the dress from Beth's hands.

"Look, Lydia, I told you I can pay for that myself." Beth stepped forward to take it back but Lydia held it out of her reach with an impatient sigh.

"I found it so I will pay for it. This has nothing to do with apologising-"

"Still, it's way too much-"

"Beth! Just let me pay for the damn dress!" Something in Lydia's tone of voice made Beth stop in her tracks. Lydia looked … not sad, Beth had honestly never seen her look sad, but maybe annoyed, although it was not the kind of annoyance Beth was used to seeing on Lydia's face. She looked impatient.

They looked at each other for a beat before Beth slowly nodded, and Lydia paid for her clothes and the dress for Beth. When they got outside the boutique, Beth was talking a mile a minute, trying to clear the awkward tension between them.

··· ··· ··· ··· ···

Beth kept her promise and wore the dress to the game. Jaime, who had never been fond of neither sports nor crowds had elected to stay at home, but both Louie and Chloe wanted to see the first game of the season.

Beth had tried to de-fancy her dress as much as possible. She wore her black leather jacket and a thick rainbow-coloured scarf with matching gloves. She considered wearing trousers under the dress, but that was an argument she hadn't the energy for and opted for the thickest tights she owned.

Louie was waiting downstairs with Chloe. He snorted when he saw her. "You do know you're not going to a five-star restaurant, right? You're going to be caked in freezing mud."

Beth stopped when she reached the bottom of the stairs and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you know that lacrosse games generally don't encourage spectator participation?" She felt a little self-conscious with them both looking at her like that.

"That looks cold," came a voice from the living room. Jaime was sitting on the couch with a book in his hand and a gentle smile on his face. "Pretty, but cold."

Beth frowned and clapped once. "Yes, well, that's enough of ragging on my choice in clothing. Shouldn't we be getting on? We don't want to be late for the first game of the season," she said with exaggerated cheerfulness.

Louie laughed and gave her shoulder a familial squeeze, before saying goodbye to Jaime and walking out the door. Chloe came up to Beth and linked their arms before waving a goodbye to Jaime and dragging her out of the door.

As soon as the cold hit her, she immediately regretted putting on the dress. It was cold enough that her breath misted every time she breathed out. The dress was also way more restrictive than she remembered, even if she had tried it just the day before, and every time she lifted her arms too far up the dress tightened uncomfortably.

Already the school car park was filled with cars and people. Beth, Chloe, and Louie hurried across the road, all of them eager to reach the lacrosse field even though it wouldn't be much warmer there. None of them was colder than Beth who already couldn't feel her toes. She wished she'd worn a hat.

When they reached the pitch, Chloe spotted some of her friends and disappeared into the crowd. Beth and Louie made their way to the bleachers where Allison and Lydia were already sitting with Mr Argent. Beth pointed them out and they made their way there.

While Louie and Mr Argent introduced themselves to each other, Beth sidled in so she was sitting beside Lydia who raised an eyebrow at the sight of the tatty scarf. "Well, you're wearing the dress but also … that."

"Give me a break, Lydia, I'm freezing my tits off." Beth was bouncing her legs with lightning speed to try to get some warmth back in them.

Allison shot her dad a startled look to make sure he hadn't overheard her. "If you're so cold then why did you wear a dress?" She asked when she had made sure her father was too preoccupied talking to Louie to hear Beth.

Beth shot Lydia a dry look. "Because I am an excellent friend who always keeps my promises."

Lydia rolled her eyes but otherwise didn't seem interested in having a conversation. She was looking down at the pitch, where the players had made tracks in the rime covered grass. She smiled imperceptibly when number 11 came out on the field. She had apparently succeeded in convincing him to play.

"So, are you excited about the game?" Allison asked, leaning forward so she could see Beth around Lydia.

"Allison, I feel like-like a kid on Boxing day."

Allison snorted and raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean Christmas morning?"

"Nope, I've always liked Boxing day more. You've already got your presents and the sting of disappointment when you find out your grandmother got you a useless journal for the fourth year in a row has lessened somewhat. And there's leftover Christmas candy and there's always the best movies on the telly."

The shrill sound of a whistle drowned out Allison's laugh. Neither of the girls had noticed how Jackson and a player from the other team had gravitated towards the middle for the faceoff to start the game. Beth squinted her eyes as she tried to find the ball that zipped from player to player across the field.

Even through the haze of cold, Beth felt the electric energy that came whenever she watched a team expertly, or at least as expertly as high school lacrosse could get, weave in and out between each other as bulky ballerinas. She had to give it to them: the Beacon Hills Cyclones were very talented.

Beth's eyes widened and she cursed.

"What is it?" Lydia asked while still looking at the game.

"I forgot my camera," Beth said sullenly and took out her phone. It would have to do. She opened the camera and started snapping photos, frowning when she saw how blurry they were.

Down on the pitch, one of the home team players was pushed so hard the ball flew up in the air and landed on the grass. Beth whooped loudly and almost got up from the bench when she saw McCall tearing through the field towards it.

Scott was only a few metres from the ball when Jackson rammed into him sending him tumbling to the ground.

"What? He can't do that! That's his own bloody team!" Beth screamed but loud cheering downed it out. Beth shared a look with Allison for a brief second before a bouncy redhead obscured her. Jackson scored the game's first goal and the bleachers exploded in cheers. Beth surged to her feet screaming and clapping with the others, forgetting everything about the unfair play before.

Beside her, Lydia and Allison held up a sign saying 'We luv u Jackson,' jumping up and down in joy. Beth did notice how it looked like 11 – Scott - paused for a second before continuing back to his spot.

Beth's confidence in the Cyclones slowly diminished as the game went on. They were good, but the opposing team knew what they were doing. It seemed like they'd rather pass to someone closer to the goal than Scott, who had stopped short of doing windmills to get the attention of his teammates.

The umpire blew a whistle signifying it was halftime. Beth stood bouncing on her feet to keep the warmth her body had generated from cheering like a maniac.

Beth slid past Lydia and Allison stamping the ground as she walked trying to get some warmth to her poor toes.

"So what do you think of your first lacrosse game?" Louie asked, bouncing a bit in place to ward off the cold.

"That's it's pretty much like a rugby game only with sticks and totally different rules. Although, I thought there'd be more hot dog vendors. In the movies, there's always at least one hotdog vendor." Beth rubbed her ears and once again lamented at not having worn a hat.

"Ah yes, I remember that scene in The Shining where Jack finds a hotdog vendor in the bathroom. It's a cinematic masterpiece," Louie said and laughed. "When I have time, we should drive down to San Fran and see the Giants play. There you'll get your hot dog vendors. There might be some nachos too."

Beth's eyes lit up and she started to bounce, not from cold but from excitement. She'd spent nearly every summer in Beacon Hills but she'd never seen a baseball game.

Something caught Louie's eyes and he nodded towards the field. "There's Sheriff Stilinski. I actually have some questions for him, I should really go and say hi," Louie said more to himself than Beth.

She looked towards the field to see a middle-aged man with sandy hair standing by the edge of the pitch. So that was Stiles's dad. "Is it about the body in the woods?" She asked excitedly.

Louie smirked. "Sorry, I can't comment on an ongoing investigation."

Beth gave him a little shove. "You're a journalist, that's kind of your job, yeah?"

Still smirking, Louie put an arm around her shoulder and steered her towards the sheriff. "Let's go say hi. Maybe I can slip in some questions about the investigation. Not that he'd answer them anyway," he said cheerfully.

When they stopped in front of the sheriff, he shot Louie a wary glance. Louie could be very persistent, and Beth didn't envy the sheriff's job trying to fend him off while still trying to keep Beacon Hills safe.

"Good evening Sheriff Stilinski. Is your son playing here tonight?" Louie said jovially still keeping his arm draped around Beth's shoulder.

Stilinski still looked a little wary but he nodded his head in greeting. "Sandoval." He looked to the side where the home team were huddled together. Sometimes Coach could be spotted between the red-clad bodies waving his arms around his head and frequently almost slapping one of the players in the face.

Beth was immeasurably relieved that Stiles wasn't nearby. The confession she heard the day before still made her cheeks burn.

"He's, um. On the bench right now." Stilinski looked back and noticed Beth. She smiled and waved at him.

"Oh, this is my husband's daughter Beth. I think she's the same grade as your son."

Beth stepped forward to shake his hand like a real human being. "Yeah, we have English and Chemistry together."

"She moved here a month ago," Louie added when the sheriff's brows furrowed in thought.

"Beth," he said slowly. "You're the one with the cheese rolling."

Louie shot her a bewildered look and she smiled weakly. "Yep, that's me alright. The cheese girl."

"Wh-" A loud ringing interrupted Louie's question. The sheriff grabbed a phone out of the pockets of his khaki pants.

"Excuse me. Sandoval. Beth," he said before moving backwards and away from the bleachers.

Louie practically vibrated with curiosity, bouncing up and down on the soles of his feet.

"I wonder what that was about."

"They've arrested someone on suspicion of murder. The girl in the woods," Louie said distractedly. He was still watching the Sheriff.

Beth tugged at his sleeve. "What? Who?"

Louie looked at her. "I don't know," he admitted. "My source couldn't give me a name. Maybe I could-" He was cut yet again, this time from the umpire's whistle. "C'mon, we better get back."

They started towards their seats. "Do you work with him a lot?" Beth asked over the sound of the spectators.

"I handle a lot of the criminal cases, so sometimes, yeah. He'll even answer my questions once in a blue moon but I have a feeling this is one of those times where I have to work to earn my keep."

When they got to their seats, Beth squeezed past Lydia and Allison and sat down.

Lydia leaned towards her, her eyes still on the pitch where they were gearing up for the faceoff. "Where were you?"

As soon as Beth sat down, she felt the energy again. She started bouncing her right leg for both warmth and nervous energy. "Louie saw someone he wanted to say hi to," Beth said distractedly.

The ball flew up in the air and was caught by the nearest player. Beth hissed, as he scored a goal not even two minutes after the game had started again.

The tension rose amongst both the players and the spectators as the clock ticked closer to endgame. Had Beth not been wearing thick gloves she would've bitten her nails to the quick.

The ball had been thrown out of bounds and the players shuffled back in their designated spots, all except for one. Scott was standing close to the edge of the pitch, bend over as if he was about to lose the content of his stomach on the grass. Even from the bleachers, Beth could see huge puffs of mists when he breathed hard.

Mr Argent leaned towards Allison. "Which one is Scott again?"

"Number eleven," said Lydia icily, staring at Scott as if the weight of her gaze could get him to pull it together. That or to eliminate him so someone else could take his place. "Otherwise known as the only one who hasn't caught a single ball this entire game."

Allison rocked back and forth. Like Lydia, she was looking at Scott but her eyes were a great deal gentler. "I hope he's okay," she whispered, more to herself than the others.

"I hope we're okay," Lydia snapped and eyed the clock like it had personally offended her family.

While Lydia and Allison waved another sign around, Beth looked down at the player benches and searched for a closely cropped head. Stiles was practically bouncing out of his seat gnawing what looked to be his padded glove.

The umpire blew his whistle for faceoff and Jackson and the other team's captain fought to gain control of the ball. It flew high up in the air and fell towards two white-clad players.

Suddenly, Scott came sailing in to view jumping over the players and catching the ball. He darted down the pitch skirting around the other team's players with more elegance than should be possible in a high school boy.

When he scored a goal, the crowd rushed to their feet. All except one. Beth noticed Lydia remained seated beside her, looking sour and she bumped her shoulder with her hip. "We scored a goal!" Beth screamed over the ruckus around her. She pointed at the scoreboard and grinned manically, which only made Lydia glower at her. Lydia had been the one complaining that Scott wasn't going to play and now she was a bad sport because her boyfriend didn't score the goal.

Nobody remained seated as the game started again. Even Lydia got up even though she still looked cross.

Beth caught Allison's eyes and they grinned wildly at each other.

Down on the field, the opposing team had gotten the ball. The player was about to pass it to one of his teammates when he suddenly faltered. There was a confused moment when nothing happened and then he passed the ball to Scott.

It was silence for a beat as people processed what had just happened before the crowd erupted a loud albeit confused cheer from the stands.

"Is that even allowed?" Beth asked bewildered and gestured wildly towards the players. No one answered her.

Yet again Scott ran down the pitch, dodging one of the opposing team's players. It looked like the players on both teams were keeping their distance.

With a mighty swing of his lacrosse stick, Scott hurtled the ball towards the goal. The goalie caught it but the ball kept going and tore a hole in the netting.

As before there was silence when the spectators processed what had happened but when the roaring cheer started it seemed like there was no end. Beth, Lydia and Allison were screaming at the top of their lungs, jumping up and down and clapping as loud as their glove-clad hands would permit. Beth had forgotten all about being cold or wearing an uncomfortable dress. The score was even and there were 39 seconds until the end of the game. Had anyone else been playing, Beth would have celebrated a tie but if anyone could pull a victory out of thin air, it seemed to be Scott.

Beth breathed out shakily and drummed a nervous beat on her thighs with her hands. They could win this. They could win this if they passed the ball to Scott.

Jackson won the ball and retreated a couple of steps. Beth was about to scream out 'PASS TO SCOTT,' but it seemed like Coach and Stiles had that covered. They were both screaming loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd and it almost looked like Stiles was trying to write Scott's name in the air.

In one breathless moment, Beth thought Jackson was going to pass to someone else but he deftly swung his stick under a white-clad player and Scott caught the ball.

Beth had already begun cheering for the victory when Scott stopped dead on the field. The loud whoop died on her lips. She grabbed Lydia's hand and squeezed it. "Lydia, the clock is ticking! Lydia, he has to score the goal, Lydia!" she was tugging at Lydia's hand but the girl in question didn't even seem to notice it. Her gaze was frozen to Scott as if she was watching a car crash in slow motion.

Scott moved back and forth on the spot. Slowly, two opposition players edged closer, sticks ready for an interception.

It felt like every second lasted a minute. Allison clutched her chest, mumbling something that Beth didn't catch over the ruckus. She hoped it was a prayer to give Scott a kick in the arse.

Just as the two players had gathered enough courage for an attack, Scott tore forwards and swung his stick. The ball sailed right under the goalie's stick and the bleachers erupted in cheer. Beth screamed at the top of her lungs and almost jumped into Lydia's arms. The two girls jumped up and down while the crowd cheered.

When Beth finally detached herself from Lydia, there were a lot fewer people on the bleachers. Most of them were milling out over the field, some of them towards the players celebrating in the middle and some of them back towards the car park.

Beth beamed at Lydia who smiled back at her. Lydia's cheeks were dusted with red from jumping up and down and a couple of locks of her usually neat hair were flying around her head but she paid it no mind.

Grabbing Beth's shoulders, Lydia gave them a little shake. "We won!" She yelled breathlessly.

"We won!" Beth replied and took her hand.

Together they ran down to the team celebrating in the middle of the pitch, still holding hands.


	6. What's All the Buzz About?

**AN: Ok, first of all: HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Y'ALL!**

 **Second of all: When I started writing, I just sort of assumed that series 1 was set at the start of the school year, but when I rewatched series 1 I saw that that was, in fact, not the case! I honestly have no idea why I thought this was set in September in CALIFORNIA (why was it so cold?) but yeah. I'll go back and change the first 5 chapters sometime during the next week.**

 **That said, I hope you enjoy!**

… … … … …

Chapter 6: What's all the buzz about?

"So that's where you ran off to."

Beth stood by her locker, having just heard the tale of the Kiss from Allison. "Can't say I blame you. Even I thought that four hours of nonstop lacrosse talk was dull." She'd ended the night in the corner talking with Danny and a guy who was just as into photography as she was.

Allison's already wide smile grew wider and there was a light dusting of red across her pale cheeks. "He ran off when the game ended, and I needed to make sure he was okay."

"Sounds like he was more than okay when you left him." She winked at Allison as she grabbed what she needed from her locker. "The boys' locker room, eh. You didn't happen to see any juicy stuff in there or were you too preoccupied with the one in front of you?" She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at Allison.

With a snort and a roll of the eyes, Allison shut her locker. "It was just us. And-uh, um, Stiles was there too. Later."

Beth raised her eyebrows. "Stiles? Figures. Those two are joined at the hip, it seems. He's not going to join you when you see him again, right? When exactly are you going to see him?"

Allison barely had time to open her mouth before they were interrupted. "See who again?" Lydia sidled up beside them, wearing a smug smile that indicated she already knew who they were talking about. Beth had always been impressed by how surprisingly stealthy Lydia could be, especially considering she was wearing high heels.

"I'm going to hang out with Scott tomorrow," said Allison, fighting to keep another huge smile off her face. She adjusted her grip on the folders in her arms. "We, uh, we sort of kissed after the game."

Lydia's eyes glinted when she smiled smugly. "So that's why you disappeared. We missed you after the game. A lot of the guys had been dying to meet you." She didn't seem that unhappy about that. Beth, who was by no account an observant person, could see that Lydia was planning something. "So, tell me what happened."

Allison launched into the story once again, as they walked down the hallway. "And then he texted me yesterday and asked if I wanted to hang out tomorrow."

"That sounds fantastic, Allison," Lydia said with a sugary smile.

Allison smiled back and adjusted the folders in her arms. "I have to do some stuff for French before next class. I'll see you in English, Beth." She turned around and bounced up the stairs, quickly disappearing in the crowded hall.

When Beth was sure that Allison was out of hearing range, she turned sharply towards Lydia. "All right Lydia, spill it. What are you up to?" She folded her arms across her chest and did her best to look intimidating. The look Lydia shot her implied that it didn't work.

"What are you talking about? I'm just happy for Allison, like a friend is supposed to be." She, too, crossed her arms over her chest and that was much more effective than when Beth did it.

Beth snorted and shook her head. "I know your wily ways. You're planning something." She linked arms with Lydia and started down the hallway. "C'mon, we're going to be late for class."

Lydia looked up at Beth with an amused smile. "Especially if you keep pulling me in the wrong direction."

Quickly, Beth let her go. "Right," she said with an embarrassed smile. "I have English and you have … uh, Biology?"

"Chemistry. I'll see you at lunch." Lydia turned around and walked back towards the way they came.

Beth was almost at the classroom when the loudspeaker came on with a squeak. "Attention, students. This is your principal. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. But while the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled. Thank you."

Incident? Buses? The police? The need to go investigate was almost a physical force, but students had already started filing into the classroom and the clock would surely ring any moment. But the police.

Making up her mind, Beth whirled around and almost collided with someone behind her. She skirted past them with nothing but a hurried apology and set off down the hallway. If she was quick, she could find out what happened and still make it back before the last bell.

The buses were parked on the side of the school, which was why she hadn't seen it. She was consulting a map of the school, which was tagged to the wall, when the first bell rang. Five minutes. She had five minutes to find it.

After nearly walking into the teachers' lounge, she finally found the correct door. The sight that greeted her when she pushed it open was definitely not what she'd expected. Normally, when buses were concerned, it meant vandalism like slashed tyres; this was not even in the same league. The door had been ripped open, leaving it to dangle on a single warped hinge but that was not even the most memorable. Both the outside and inside was smeared with bright red blood, and the brown upholstery was slashed, littering the ground with blood-soaked foam.

So occupied was she with the gruesome sight that she didn't notice the police officer walking up to her. She jumped nearly a foot in the air when he barked, "you there! Didn't you hear the bell? You have to go."

"Oh, um. I got lost, so, uh. I'm new here," she said absent-mindedly, looking back at the bus. That was technically not a lie.

The officer scowled and put his hands on his waist. "Well, you better get un-lost then. There's nothing to see here." He looked young and terribly eager to show off his authority.

Beth looked pointedly from the bus to the officer. "Right," she said. "Do you know what happened?" It wasn't until then she noticed the Sheriff standing in the background talking to the principal.

The officer did not appreciate being ignored. "I told you, there's nothing to see here. Now get out of my sight before I drag you to the office. Is that what you want?"

Beth looked at him sharply. How rude, making threats when she wasn't technically breaking any rules. "Technically, the bell has only rung once so I have every right to be here," she said a little more snottily than the situation called for.

The officer's scowl deepened and he took a step towards her. "I could also arrest you for obstruction of justice."

Obstruction of justice? That was a bit of a stretch, but Beth didn't feel like finding out if he was serious. "You know what," she said, taking a step towards the door, "I think I just heard the warning bell, so, uh, I'll just be going now." She backed towards the door, casting one last look at the wrecked bus.

"If I see you here again I'll-" She was thankfully spared the end of that sentence when the door slammed shut between them.

Beth had barely taken more than a dozen steps before another voice rang out.

"Sod it," she mumbled as she turned around. An unknown teacher was striding towards her with long steps. She looked young too, but her face lacked the deep scowl the officer had been sporting.

"The last bell rang two minutes ago," she said with a resigned voice. "Why aren't you in class?"

Beth smiled innocently up at her. "I- I got lost. I'm new here, see, and I lost track of time and then I couldn't find someone to ask for directions." She tried stressing her accent as much as possible to really sell it.

It looked like it worked, or the teacher just couldn't be arsed to write her up. "All right," she sighed. "Where are you heading?"

Beth followed her back to the English classroom, trying to look like she hadn't a clue where they were going.

With a steadying breath – it was never fun to interrupt a lesson like that – she opened the door and stepped inside. The students paused to stare at her, and the teacher stopped mid-sentence to shoot her a dirty look. Beth tried smiling but it came out as an embarrassed grimace. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"Miss Vinther, how nice of you to finally join us. I don't know how they do it in Wales, but here you show up on time, do you understand?"

Beth was still standing by the door, unsure if she should take a seat or not. What was the procedure when you were late in the States? From some of the stories she'd heard, it sounded like tardiness was a capital offence. "Uh … I got lost?" she tried, not feeling too confident. She'd already used that excuse twice and she must soon start to run out of luck.

"Then might I suggest you start carrying a map and compass. Sit down, Miss Vinther."

She nodded meekly and walked stiff-legged to her seat. Allison mouthed at her but Beth minutely shook her head. She would not get told off for talking in class too.

As soon as she sat down, the lesson continued. She hid behind her book, waiting for her blush to subside and some of the mortification to leave her body.

A note was placed on the edge of her desk. She looked behind to see Allison looking around Scott with an inquisitive look. Beth opened the note and was greeted by a neat handwriting. It simply said "Where were you? "

Beth used her book as a cover as she scrawled her answer on the back of the note. _I had to look at that bus. It was wicked. Talk later?_ She handed the note to Scott who sneakily gave it to Allison. When she'd read it she gave a thumbs up and crumbled the note to hide all evidence of their little talk.

Beth turned around towards the teacher and slid further down the chair. Concentration on Kafka was hard when a juicy new mystery was so close by. Her eyes glazed over as she followed that train of thought and left the classroom far behind.

··· ··· ··· ··· ···

Beth was reminded exactly why she loathed Chemistry, and the teacher, later that day. She'd never been particularly good at science and that was furthered by the sentient wank stain that was Mr Harris. She hadn't the foggiest why he'd chosen to become a teacher, as he obviously hated both the students and the faculty alike.

The Chemistry room was mostly silent save for the scratching of pen on paper and an occasional rustle of movement from a student. Beth had hidden away in a corner of the room, having stacked all the books in her possession in front of her in an effort to avoid the beady eyes of evil incarnate. The demon in question was standing with his back to the class, writing on the blackboard.

The relative silence was disturbed by hushed whispers coming from the middle of the room. Scott and Stiles were sitting at two different tables, but Stiles was leaned forward in a truly impressive feat, having what looked to be an energetic conversation, or as energetic as whispers could be. Beth could only guess that they were talking about the bus; it seemed to be the only thing people could talk about, Beth included. Stiles sat with his back to her, but she could see Scott's worried face.

Mr Harris turned around from the blackboard and eyed them disdainfully.

"Mr Stillinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while." Beth ducked down behind her tower of books. She felt bad, but at least it wasn't her getting a bollocking this time. "I think you and Mr McCall would benefit from a little distance, yes?"

Both Scott and Stiles had slunk down in their seats, but here Stiles spoke up. "No," he tried, but Mr Harris overruled him with a single look. He jabbed a finger in the direction of Beth, or rather the empty chair next to her.

"Let me know if the separation anxiety gets to be too much."

Stiles, who moved towards the empty chair by Beth, laughed cheerlessly. Scott moved further up the room and sat down between Jackson and Mr Harris. Beth didn't envy him; being sandwiched between the two worst people in the school was not something she'd wish on her worst enemy.

When Stiles got to the table, he disposed his backpack on the floor with more force than necessary before throwing himself into the chair. When he turned to see who he was sitting beside, he froze with a deer in the headlight look. He clearly remembered what happened at the hospital.

Beth gave a pained smile, trying to ignore the tense awkward silence that stretched between them. The silence was only interrupted by Stiles incessant clicking a pen, eyes roving around the room without stopping for more than a second.

She should apologise to him or at least try to explain herself but her mouth wouldn't form the appropriate words, and in the end, she just pretended to be very interested in what Mr Harris was blathering on about.

She'd just made up her mind to say something to Stiles, when the class once again was interrupted.

"Hey, I think they found something!" shouted the girl sitting beside Scott. She moved to the window and there was a scramble to join her, and Beth almost tripped out of her chair in her hurry. The indignant huffs from Mr Harris were drowned out by the din.

She pushed her way through to the window. An ambulance was parked outside, doors wide open and a two paramedics running with a stretcher, followed by two officers. On the stretched laid a man and even from a distance they could see he was covered in blood and deep cuts.

Learning forward, she almost pressed her nose against the cold glass in the hopes that it would somehow yield her more information when the man violently lurched forward and let out a piercing scream.

The entire class jumped back from the window with a shriek. It felt like someone had given Beth's heart a good squeeze.

"You think that was the guy attacked on the bus?" A girl beside Beth asked.

"He seemed pretty spry for someone who lost that much blood," another girl said, craning her neck to get another glimpse of the ambulance.

This was one of the first times Beth didn't feel like contributing to the conversation. The man's scream was still ringing in her ears. He had sounded terrified out of his mind. It had taken four men to push him back on the stretcher. What the hell happened on that bus?

It required Mr Harris threatening to give the entire class detention before they returned to their seat, but the air was still buzzing with whispered conversation and no one really seemed to pay attention to him.

When Beth was safely hidden behind her books, she turned to Stiles. "Do you think he's going to be okay?" she asked quietly, all awkwardness forgotten.

Stiles, who had been jabbing at his paper with a pen with a faraway look in his eyes, blinked once and looked at her in like he was surprised to see her. "Oh, uh … th-the man? I don't know."

"Have you even seen the bus? It's completely covered in blood. How the hell was he even conscious?" Beth briefly ducked down when Mr Harris looked in their direction.

Stiles shot a pained look at the back of Scott's head. "But he's alive, you know. Dead men don't scream like that. He's probably going to be okay."

Beth frowned. Where was the fun in speculating when Stiles wasn't listening at all? "The back door was nearly ripped off the hinges. What kind of animal can do that? A lot, probably, but anyone in California? How's the Grizzly situation, do you know?"

Stiles didn't answer her. He'd gone back to tapping his notebook with his pen, making a myriad of little black dots in the middle of the page.

"Do you think it has something to do with the body they found in the woods?"

"No!" That got his attention. The entire class stilled and a dozen heads swirled around to look at them.

"Mr Stilinski, it seems that moving you away from Mr McCall to stop your incessant chatting may have been in vain. Pray tell, what is so important that you once again feel the need to interrupt my class?" Mr Harris glared unblinkingly at Stiles, who shared a panicked look with Beth.

"She- uh, she wanted to borrow my notes," he said meekly.

Mr Harris looked unimpressed. "I see. Next time, might I suggest simply shaking your head instead of shouting? And Miss Vinther-" He turned his gaze to Beth- "You wouldn't need to borrow other peoples' notes if you paid attention in class instead of hiding behind a stack of books." A tittering of giggles rose from the students.

Beth looked down at her admittedly poor notes. "Yes, sir," she mumbled.

"The next person to interrupt my class gets a one-way ticket to the principal's office. Is that understood?" He was met with deafening silence.

Beth and Stiles made eye contact and she mouthed an "I'm sorry."

Stiles scribbled something on his notepad and turned it towards her. _Why do you think it's connected?_

Beth shrugged and wrote, _IDK if it's a coincidence. They found animal hair on the body, right?_

Stiles chewed on the end of his pen before writing, _maybe it is_. He was apparently satisfied with that because he turned his gaze to the front of the class and no amount of prodding from Beth could avert his attention.

When the bell rang, Beth all but sprinted out of the classroom, in part because she wanted to find Lydia or Allison to tell them what she'd seen, but also because she wanted as much distance as possible between her and Mr Harris.

She found Lydia standing in the lunch line and sidled up next to her, a plastic lunch tray pressed to her chest.

"Have you heard what happened in-"

"They found the man who was attacked, yes, I've heard." Lydia sounded bored.

"And that-"

"They took him away in an ambulance. I know that too."

Beth frowned. "Jesus, rumours do travel fast in this place. I reckon you don't care about that either," she said dryly before she could stop herself. They did not need a repeat of the old argument.

Lydia huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Talking and speculating about what happened won't change anything. The man still got attacked and there's nothing we can do about it. Besides-" she held out her tray to the lunch lady. A clot of pasta landed with an unappetising thump. "There are more important things to worry about."

Beth stared dejectedly down at the greasy pasta on her own tray. She didn't think it was possible to make worse food than at her old school but this one had surpassed all expectations.

"Like what?"

Lydia's answering smile was worrying. She turned around and began walking towards the room with that easy, elegant walk of hers.

Beth had no choice but to hurry after her. "Lyds, our table is that way. Lydia? Bloody hell, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Beth completely, Lydia placed her tray on the table beside Scott. Scott and Stiles were sitting with their heads together, whispering furiously.

"Figure what out?" she asked sweetly as she sat down.

With an eye roll, Beth walked around the table and threw herself into the chair next to Stiles. She needed a little space from Lydia.

Scott and Stiles looked completely flabbergasted at each other, before Scott answered. "Uh, just homework." He said, looking shiftily around the table.

Leaning forward, Stiles shot Scott a panicked look. "Why is she sitting with us?" He turned to Beth. "Why are you sitting with us?" He asked, looking at her with narrow suspicious eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Beth whispered back.

Stiles' eyes widened and he leaned back in his chair, looking intently from Beth to Lydia as if he could gauge their intention somehow.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait long until Allison sat down in the chair opposite Beth, and slowly the chairs got filled out with more people.

"Get up," Jackson ordered when he got to the table.

"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" A lacrosse player, whose name Beth had forgotten, whined.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot," Danny said.

Beth's eyes unwittingly went to the aforementioned coin slot for a second, before she intently looked back at her food.

The banished lacrosse player got up with a great bit of grumbling, and Jackson sat down at the head of the table.

"So I hear they're saying it's some kind of animal attack," Danny said, when everyone had settled down.

"Yes!" Beth said loudly. She ducked down a bit when all eyes swirled to her. "I mean, finally someone who wants to talk about this." She shot Lydia and then Stiles an accusatory look. Stiles got busy stuffing his mouth with chips to avoid her gaze.

Danny shot her a bemused look around Stiles. "Beacon Hills used to be such a boring place, and now we got, what, a murder and an animal attack in two weeks. You know, that suspiciously coincides with when you moved here." He pointed a finger at her. "Are you sure you don't have anything to do with this?"

Beth smiled and held up her hands in mock surrender. "You got me, Danny. I am a menace of the night."

Scott squirmed slightly in his seat.

Danny grinned and snapped his fingers. "I knew it. You act all sweet and innocent but I see the bloodthirst in your eyes."

"I'm a-I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing, that's what I am."

Beside her, Stiles choked on a mouthful of chips. He grabbed his water and downed half the bottle while people snickered around him. His neck and ears turned the same colour as the ketchup.

"Hey moron, maybe chew your food before you swallow it next time," Jackson said.

"Stiles, are you okay?" Allison asked worriedly from the other side of the table.

"Uh, yup," Stiles mumbled as he started peeling an orange with more concentration than what was necessary.

Danny coughed and changed the subject. "So what do you think it was? The animal, I mean. Probably a cougar, right?"

"I heard mountain lion," Jackson said. Even he was interested in what had happened, and he didn't care about anything that didn't involve lacrosse or Scott's newfound ability at the aforementioned sport.

"A cougar is a mountain lion," Lydia snapped before she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Isn't it?"

Jackson scoffed. "Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

"Compassion, thy name is Jackson," Beth mumbled to no one in particular. She heard a snort from her right and looked at Stiles, who was busy with something on his phone. Whatever it was made the smile drop from his face.

"Actually, I just found out who it is. Check it out." He put his phone in the middle of the table, and Beth leaned forward to see the little screen.

It showed a news clip from the local channel of the Sheriff walking in front of the very recognisable bus. "The Sheriff's department won't speculate on the details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Gerrison Meyers, did survive the attack." A voiceover informed. A photo of Mr Meyers came up, and Beth had to swallow a lump in her throat. Somehow knowing who it was made it all more real, somehow. They'd joked about it, but there was an actual human being in the hospital. He was smiling in the photo and he looked like a quintessential family father.

"Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition." The voiceover finished.

"I-I know this guy," Scott said, his face etched in worry.

"You do?" Allison said.

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver." Scott and Stiles shared a worried look again.

Lydia, who'd been silent all through the conversation and news clip of the attack, had enough. "Can we talk about something more fun, please?" She was right, attacks and critical conditions weren't exactly cheery lunchtime discussions. "Like … oh, where are we going tomorrow night?" That statement was met with different reactions. Allison looked confused, Scott terrified, Stiles was gaping, and Beth almost dropped her fork in surprise, which she had no right to be because she knew Lydia was up to something the moment she sat down at Scott and Stiles' table.

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?" She said sweetly.

Allison looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh-um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do."

"Well, I am not sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun." Beth could've kicked Lydia if they weren't sitting at opposite ends of the table.

Beth's forehead hit her palm with a loud slap, but everyone was too busy observing the train wreck playing out at the table to notice.

"Hanging out?" Scott turned and looked at Allison with his big, puppy dog eyes. "Like the four of us?" He leaned closer to her, but Beth could still hear what he said. "Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?"

"Yeah, I guess." Allison tried to smile but it looked more like she was in pain. "Sounds fun."

"You know what else sounds fun? Stabbing myself in the face with this fork," Jackson said and grabbed a fork from his tray for dramatic effect. This was one instance where Beth agreed with him.

Lydia snapped the fork out of his hand with an impatient sigh. "How about bowling? You love to bowl!"

To the right of Beth, Stiles was subtly shaking his head at Scott, a chip sticking out of his mouth like a cigarette.

"Yeah, with actual competition." This made the deer-in-headlights look fall from Allison's face and replaced by a surprisingly competitive glint in her eyes.

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" She leaned over Scott to shoot Jackson a challenging look. "You can bowl, right?"

"Sort of," Scott said.

Jackson pushed his tray out of the way and leaned his arms on the table, in a classic example of manly posturing. "Is it a sort of, or yes?"

Scott mimicked his position, and Beth rolled her eyes so hard it started to hurt. If every day was going to be a macho competition like this, then maybe she ought to find some other people to sit with. She cast a look around the cafeteria in search of Chloe.

"Yes," Scott said. "In fact, I'm a great bowler."

"Great," Lydia said loudly, cutting off what would surely have been a scathing reply from Jackson. "A little friendly competition never hurt anyone." She grabbed Jackson's hand and smiled sweetly up at him. "Right, Jackson?"

Stiles, who'd hidden his face in his hands, peeked out between his fingers. Beth sent him an apologetic smile.

"You could've given a little more warning than 'I'm sorry,'" Stiles leaned towards her and whispered, while the others talked.

"I didn't know what she was planning, honestly," Beth whispered back. "If I did I'd gotten as far away from this catastrophe as possible."

"Catastrophe doesn't even begin to-"

"Well, don't blame me for it," Beth whispered hotly. "I told Lydia not to-"

"Sure, Beth can come with us." At the sounds of her name, Beth and Stiles flew apart and Beth looked around in confusion, while Stiles slunk down in his seat.

"I can what now?"

"Come with us tomorrow," Lydia said.

Beth opened her mouth but nothing came out. She looked at Allison, trying to gauge what the appropriate response would be. Allison looked … hopeful? Beth was rubbish at reading people, and besides, she didn't know what she was hopeful for. It could be that Beth would join them and act as a buffer between the two couples, or that she'd say no because if three was a crowd then what was five?

"I …" she looked around the table, from Scott's terrified look to Jackson's cool contempt. "I have family night." She tried.

Allison's lips grew thin as she regarded Beth with an unhappy look. Wrong answer, then.

Lydia scoffed. "Ugh, since when?"

"Uh-um, since-"

The bell rang signalling the end of lunch, and Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Literally saved by the bell.

She waited until she was alone with Lydia outside the art room, before she descended on her. "I can't believe you!" she said loudly and shook a finger at an unimpressed Lydia. "You-you hijacked their date!"

"Spare me, Beth. A double date is still a date," Lydia said and checked her lip-gloss in a small pink compact she seemingly produced out of thin air.

"You know as well as I do that this will turn into a pissing contest between Scott and Jackson. Why couldn't you go out for milkshakes instead?"

With a loud snap, Lydia closed the compact. "Milkshakes?"

"Isn't that what you Americans do? Go down to the ol'-the ol' milk bar?"

A genuine smile crossed Lydia's features, making her eyes sparkle like they did on the lacrosse field, and Beth temporarily forgot that she was mad at her. "You're thinking of A Clockwork Orange," Lydia said.

Beth beamed. "You know, sometimes you really surprise me with your weird knowledge."

Lydia scoffed. "You knew it too."

"Yeah, but I'm also a huge- Oh!" Beth's eyes widened and she grabbed Lydia's hand, tugging it lightly so they stood closer to each other. "Lydia, are you secretly a nerd?" She whispered.

Just like that, the smile vanished, replaced by a deadpan look. "You can't go even five minutes without ruining the moment, can you?" She tugged her hand free and whirled around so Beth got a face full of strawberry blonde hair, and strode into the now open art room.

Beth followed behind her, still thinking about the rare smile and how she hoped to see it again soon.

… … … … …

 _Alright so if you square that then you get x and five there but then you have to square this too, which means we have to take this wanker times this wanker, but then that doesn't make any bloody sense because then you're gonna have to divide that shitting thing too. So instead we're just gonna take this eight times this bloody eight and then screw this and screw that and screw that thing in particular._

This was going nowhere. No, it was going somewhere but slowly and with great difficulty. It took a lot more effort than Beth normally put into anything and she was starting to feel that it wasn't really worth it. In the great scheme of things did maths really matter that much?

Beth sat at her desk in her room, hunched over her maths homework, softly cursing every time she had to backtrack because she'd made an error somewhere. Her eyes occasionally darted around the room in search of something that could distract her. Soft music played in the background and she'd lit every candle she owned to create a cosy, study-friendly atmosphere, but all it did was make her want to curl up on the bed with a cup of tea and a book.

With a groan, she threw down her pencil and leaned back in the chair, which creaked loudly.

"I'm not that heavy you useless piece of shite," she said to the chair, which didn't bother responding.

With her foot, she pushed away from the desk and spun in a circle. The many candles around the room turned into streaks of light.

There was a knock at the door, and Beth threw out an arm to stop and nearly knocked the laptop off the desk.

Jaime stood in the doorway, looking at her. "I just wanted to say goodnight. What are you doing?"

Beth grabbed both armrests in an effort to make the room stop spinning. She squinted at the three Jaimes, trying to figure out which was the real one. "Maths," she grunted.

"It's sure changed a lot since I was in school," Jaime said softly, and walked over to her desk, peering down at the equations.

Beth scooted back to the desk. "I may have gotten a tad bit distracted," she said with a smile.

"I can see that. Do you need any help?"

With a snort, she looked up at Jaime. "Why, are you going to call Louie?" There was a sort of indiscernible look on Jaime's face, and she was almost scared she'd offended him, until he reached out and gently pinched her cheek.

"I must have a talk with your mother, raising a cheeky child like that." He let go of her cheek. "I use math every day, and you do too if those photos of yours are worth anything."

With a huff, she crossed her arms. "Of course they are."

Jaime smiled fondly and kissed her on the top of the head. "I'll take you with me to the studio sometime. You might learn something." He squeezed shoulder. "Don't stay up too long, it's a school night."

Beth smiled at him. "I won't. Goodnight."

After he closed the door, she got up and stretched. The alarm clock on the desk said it 6 minutes past 11.

She went to the stereo by the window and turned it off, looking outside where the darkness pressed against the window. Across the street, the empty car park stretched out until it reached the school. The lampposts were on, doing their part in scaring away vandals and thieves.

"This is your fault," she muttered at the school and flipped it off. It didn't make her maths homework go away, but it made her feel just a smidgen better.

She was about to turn around and go back to her assignment when a car pulled up to the otherwise empty car park. She leaned up against the window, squinting at the car trying to make out who it was.

Two people exited the car and walked towards the school. Even with the lights on, she couldn't make out who it was. They stopped in a deep shadow by the school and Beth thought they'd disappeared before one of them returned to the car and stood leaned against it.

The curiosity was almost overwhelming and in her haste to get up she nearly knocked over a lit candle. Tearing out of her room, she went to an old cupboard in the walkway where she found a pair of heavy binoculars. She had no idea what Jaime and Louie needed what looked to be military grade binoculars for, but she didn't complain.

When she got back to her room she turned off the lights and blew out the candles nearest the window. Luckily, the shadowy figure was still standing by his car.

Throwing open the window as fast as she could, she put the binoculars up to her eyes. It took a second to get it properly focused but when it did her brows furrowed in confusion. What in God's name was Stiles doing at the school at night? She zoomed in as far as it would go and tried to get comfortable. She didn't know how long he'd stay there but she was certain she wouldn't miss a second of it.

He was leaning against a blue Jeep – she assumed it was his – and kept looking around shiftily. The other person – probably Scott, they didn't seem to be able to function without each other, - had disappeared around the school.

After five minutes, Beth was ready to call it quits. Her knees hurt from kneeling for too long and Stiles hadn't done anything noteworthy except for fidgeting around, and she saw that every day at school.

Just before she removed the binoculars, there were flashes of light inside the school. Stiles saw it too because his entire body went rigid before he threw himself into the driver's side and held down the horn. Even from the house, Beth could hear it.

Suddenly a human figure came sprinting around the school. True enough, Scott was running for all he was worth. He dove into the passenger seat and the Jeep peeled out of the car park and down the road much faster than was allowed in a school zone.

Beth sat staring out into the dark, trying to make sense of what she'd seen. What were Scott and Stiles doing in the school at night?

With a groan, Beth stood up on stiff legs. Suddenly, she felt a lot more tired than before and she stumbled to the bed.

Laying down on the covers, she looked up at the ceiling. Think. She had to think about this. They could've broken in to get the answer sheet for a test, or maybe they'd released all the frogs from the biology class.

She kept coming up with more unlikely scenarios until she, quite unintentionally, fell asleep.


	7. Badgered to Beth

**AN: BREAKING NEWS: I'm still an absolute idiot who doesn't save my BLOODY DOCUMENT often enough, so that's one of the reason this chapter took so long to come out. And also holidays and shit.**

 **I want to say thanks to everyone who's followed, favourited or reviewed Sleeping Wolves. Seriously, you guys are the bethst 2**

 **Also, I'm sorry for the lame title … or even lamer than they normally are (the buzz one is … not good). My brain is still in holiday mode and I wanted to get this thing out.**

… … … … …

Chapter 7: Badgered to Beth

Grunting in annoyance, Beth grabbed her alarm clock and contemplated hurling it out of the still open window. She'd woken up disoriented and cold, still wearing clothes from the day before. She sat the alarm clock back on the desk and sat down in her chair, pressing her palms against her eyes. On one hand, all she really wanted was to crawl under the covers and get a proper sleep but her curiosity was all but kicking her out the door in haste to get to school. She needed to have a little chat with Scott and Stiles. But, God, she was so tired.

Sleep had been blissfully void of dreams as always, but as soon as she woke, she remembered what happened the night before.

When she got downstairs, everyone was already sitting at the table.

"Morning," she mumbled and grabbed a cup of coffee already waiting for her.

"Good morning, Beth," Louie said loudly, throwing out his arms in an exaggerated way. "You're looking fresh-faced and all set for today."

Beth made an unidentifiable sound and concentrated on pouring yoghurt into a bowl without spilling everywhere.

Jaime looked up from the orange he was peeling. "When did you go to bed?"

"Yeah, you look more tired than usual," Chloe said from across the table.

Beth drizzled some homemade muesli over her yoghurt. "I'm a teenager. We're tired, it's what we do."

Chloe pointed at her with a spoon full of yoghurt. Some of it dripped on the table. "Why were you running around last night? You weren't exactly being quiet."

Beth paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth. If she told on Stiles and Scott they could be in real trouble and there'd be no way they'd tell her what they were up to. No, she'd better wait and talk to them first.

"I-I had to get the-uh, some batteries. For my alarm clock. It was almost dead." She smiled proudly at her lie.

"And that needed running?"

"I had a lot of pent up energy. So, Louie, you working on any interesting stories right now?" She turned and gave him a hopeful look.

He winced and shook his head. "Still so, so bad at changing the subject. But to answer your question, yes, I am working on something right now. I assume you've heard about the incident at the school involving a bus?"

"I may have heard it mentioned once or twice yesterday," Chloe said around a mouthful of food.

"I can't believe you're 17 years old and you still talk with your mouth full." Louie shook his head. "I should have a word with whoever raised you."

"Can you tell us anything new about it?" Beth said.

Louie gave this some thought before he relented. "The police found animal hair at the scene, although they won't reveal what kind yet. The sheriff is keeping the cards close to his chest on this one."

Beth played absentmindedly with her yoghurt. "Didn't they find animal hair on the dead girl too?"

Louie nodded. "Stands to reason that they're connected. Somehow."

Putting down the now peeled orange, Jaime folded his hands on the table and looked at them. "There is a police mandated curfew at 9:30, which I expect the both of you to adhere to. This happened just across the road from us, so please be careful. Understood?" He looked from Beth to Chloe with his mild gaze.

"Sure thing, Jaime," Chloe said. "I didn't have plans anyway."

"Me neither. Although, if Lydia asks we're having a family night."

Chloe snorted. "Why does she think that?"

"You don't wanna know."

"Oh, I'm sure I really, really do."

Jaime waved a hand, breaking them up. "That is not a bad idea, actually. It's been some time since we've had some family bonding."

"We used to do that all the time when you two were younger, do you remember that?" Said Louie and looked at Jaime. "When Beth visited in the summer."

"I do remember," Chloe said thoughtfully. "You always let us pick the movies."

Louie snorted. "In hindsight, that wasn't the greatest idea. If I have to see Crossroads one more time, I might throw myself to whatever animal is running around."

"Don't say that," Jaime said with a small frown.

"Sorry, babe." Louie reached out and squeezed his hand. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you two have a better taste in movies now."

"I dunno, I could go for some early 2000 Britney Spears," Beth said.

With a dramatic gasp, Louie clutched his chest. "No!"

Jaime shook his head at his husband's antics. "Is there any actual suggestions for a movie?"

"Cujo?" Chloe said.

"The Birds."

"Razorback."

"Slugs."

" _Slugs?"_

"We have to see it," Louie said. "It's nothing short of a masterpiece."

Jaime pinched the bridge of his nose. "May I remind you," he said stonily, "that a man is in the hospital."

That shut them up. Beth had forgotten, once again, that there was an actual human life hanging in the balance.

They chatted for a bit before Beth left to get ready for school. She wanted to get there early so she could have a chance at catching Scott and Stiles before class.

Shoving her half-finished maths homework in her bag, she tried forming a plan of attack. Scott and Stiles had proven to be skittish and reluctant to tell the truth so getting any information from then would be like pulling teeth.

Walking across the car park, she spied a blue Jeep pulling up to a parking space. "Um … Chloe, I have some, uh, stuff I have to talk about. With Stiles, I mean." She nodded towards the Jeep.

"I didn't know you hung out with Stiles," Chloe said, not bothering to look where Beth had indicated.

"I don't really. I just have questions … about chemistry."

Chloe already started walking towards the school again. "Alright. I'll see you later." She called over her shoulder.

This was the perfect time to talk to Stiles. He stood alone beside his car, rummaging in his backpack with his back towards her. He didn't notice her when she sidled up beside him. "Good morning, Stiles," she said cheerfully.

Stiles yelped and dropped his backpack on the ground. Whirling around, he stared at her. "Jesus! Y-you don't just sneak up on people like that!"

Beth leaned back from the force of his reaction. "Actually, my name's Beth." She forced her hands down the small pockets in her leather jacket and smiled.

Rubbing his heart, Stiles bent down and snatched up his backpack. "Well, good morning to you too, I guess," he mumbled.

"Ready for the day?"

"I … guess?" He looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Not tired at all?" Her smile widened.

Stiles stared at her a couple of seconds before he replied. "No?"

"Just me then. Shall we?" She gestured at the school. He nodded, still looking suspicious. Together they walked towards the entrance.

Beth stretched her arms over her head and yawned exaggeratedly. Stiles stared at her from the corner of his eyes. When he didn't say anything, she yawned again a little louder. "I was up late, doing schoolwork and whatnot."

Stiles bobbed his head up and down.

"It was strange. I looked out the window when it was pretty late. Around 11-ish."

"I … right." Stiles rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"I saw outside and there was a car." They reached the entrance to the school, and Beth held open the door for him. He was still not getting it. "By the way, did you know that I live right across from the school?"

The change in Stiles was instant. He froze in the middle of the doorway, causing a pileup behind him. "Move it, Stilinski," a guy in a frumpy pullover grunted and shoved past him.

"N-no," Stiles whispered, not noticing the dirty looks he got from the students who had to squeeze past him.

"Uh-huh. I have a fabulous view of the school from my room. I can see everyone who comes and goes, at all hours of the day." She beamed at him.

Stiles finally moved from the door, to quickly walk down the hall. Beth hastened after him. "That's nice, Beth," he said, looking straight ahead, hands gripping the straps on his backpack so hard his knuckles turned white.

"I sure think so."

"So, uh, I have to go. There's some uh, stuff I gotta do before class." He quickened his pace, and Beth almost had to run to catch up.

"Wait, don't you want to hear about the car?" She asked innocently.

"I-I'm kinda busy, so-"

"It was blue, kind of like your car." She could see the tension in Stiles' shoulders. "And it was a Jeep too. What a coincidence." She barrelled on.

Suddenly, Stiles stopped, and Beth walked a few feet ahead of him before she noticed. "That's-that's a lot of details. Didn't you say it was in the middle of the night?" He nervously flapped his hands.

"They have these fancy new things called binoculars and they're pretty handy when you have to see something that's far away. Besides, whoever drove the car parked in the very well lit car park. What kind of idiot does that?"

Stiles opened his mouth but nothing came out. Beth smiled encouragingly. "You know," he began but faltered. "It's, uh … there's a really good …" trailing off, he mouthed something to himself.

"I'm waiting,"

"There's-the … I'm not the only one with a blue Jeep, you know. There's probably, I don't know, thousands out there." He wildly swung out his arm. "Millions, even."

Beth rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Stiles! I saw you! And Scott, too.

Stiles vigorously shook his head. "N-no you didn't. I was at home, and-and so was Scott!

"Your home or his?"

"Wha- his home, of course." Stiles crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels.

"Can anyone verify that?"

"Oh, come on!" Stiles rolled his eyes so hard his whole body followed. "Are you even listening to yourself? You said it was night, right? So you were probably just dreaming or something."

Beth shook her head so hard her curls bounced wildly. "I don't dream."

Stiles tipped his head, momentarily forgetting he was being interrogated. "Everybody dreams. It's, like, the number one thing that everybody does."

Shrugging, she said, "I don't. So you can cross that off the list of excuses." She raised an eyebrow at him.

He huffed indignantly and drew himself up to his full height, which was only a couple of inches taller than Beth and that was made up by Beth's gravity defying curls. "I don't-that's not an excuse!"

"It sounds like one," Beth sang.

Stiles ran a hand down his face. "You know what, Beth? I don't care what you think, I really don't." His tone of voice suggested that he actually did. "Just, leave me alone, okay?" He started walking down the hall again, eyes searching for a way to get out of the situation.

Beth followed him. "I will when you tell me what you and Scott were doing at the school at 11 in the night."

Stiles turned sharply to the right and bolted into the only place Beth couldn't follow him: the boys bathroom.

"Stiles!" She yelled. "You can't hide in there forever!" She hit the door once for good measure. A whispering made her look to the left at a gaggle of girls, all who were staring at her. "He has my chemistry notes," she said flatly and flounced down the hall. She'd see him in English anyway unless he'd crawled out the window and mitched.

When she got to class, Stiles and Scott hadn't shown up yet. Allison was sitting by her desk, texting on her phone.

"Hey, Allison," Beth said and sat down on the edge of the desk. "Do you think we can switch seats, just today, I promise."

The other girl furrowed her brows in confusion. "Um, sure. But why?" She gathered her books and stood up.

"No reason, really. I just wanted to get some …" she looked around the room. "Space. From being in the front of the class."

Allison pointedly looked at Beth's former desk. It was hardly in the first row. "Alright," she sighed, throwing her books on the desk. "Enjoy the cheap seats."

Just before the last bell rang, Stiles entered the classroom closely followed by Scott. She suspected they'd waited until the last second so she didn't have a chance to bombard them with questions.

When they saw her, both boys froze. Scott leaned close and whispered something in Stiles' ear and they slowly moved toward their seats.

"All right?" she said cheerfully as they came near. The boys in question shared a look and sat down. She immediately turned her attention to Stiles. She'd already worked on wearing him down and she suspected he was much more entertaining to pester than Scott was.

Stiles stared intently down at his book when Beth leaned over the aisle. "Hey, Stiles," she whispered, keeping a watchful eye on the teacher, who stood with his back to the class. "Are you ready to continue our chat?"

Tap tap tap tap tap. Stiles was covering his notes black with small black dots from his pen he was furiously tapping on the paper. "There was no chat at all, you were hurtling accusations left and right, which were totally unfounded by the way."

"I. Saw. You." She drew back when the teacher turned around, looking over the class with his beady eyes. When his attention was diverted, Beth was back. "With my own two eyes."

"Nope, it was a dream. Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream," he muttered, bending low over his notes to tune her out.

Beth opened her mouth to say something but it was impossible unless she wanted to get caught by the teacher. Sitting back, she crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling. It didn't matter anyway. She could wait until Chemistry. That was going to be fun.

… … … … …

Beth was waiting for them when they got to Chemistry. Stiles gritted his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose before he trudged to the table and sat down. Apparently, he'd rather brave Beth's incessant questions than the wrath of the Devil's eviler twin.

Wasting no time, she turned to face him and rested her chin on her hand. "I reckon you could have stolen something."

Stiles, who sat straight-backed and stared straight ahead, opened his mouth to reply. When nothing came out, Beth tried again.

"It stands to reason, right? Because why else," she moved closer to Stiles, a shit-eating grin on her face, "would you keep denying it? Maybe I should go to the school administrator. I mean, what if-"

Stiles whirled around and looked taken aback at how close they were sitting. He leaned back and cleared his throat. "It's uh-It's hard to explain." He shot a pleasing look over his shoulder at Scott, who was turned around in his seat staring at them.

Beth waved at him with a huge grin. He made what was probably supposed to be a smile, and turned back towards the blackboard.

"You better hurry, then. Mr Harris will be here any minute."

"Okay." Stiles huffed and looked around. "After school, okay? I'll tell you everything after school."

"Lunch."

"No! Why?"

"Beth pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Because after school you might just leave instead. Lunch."

He rolled his eyes. "Christ, okay. Lunch." He looked over his shoulder at Scott again.

Beth smiled triumphantly and scooted back to her side of the table. Sometimes, being annoying had its perks.

When the bell rang, Stiles and Scott shot out of the classroom before everyone else. Beth took her time gathering her books. Even Mr Harris' judgmental stare couldn't take out the spring in her step as she leisurely strolled towards the cafeteria.

When she opened the door, the first thing she did was to search for Scott and Stiles. She found them sitting in a corner, untouched trays in front of them, having an urgent conversation.

Getting her lunch tray, she walked towards the boys. Scott saw her approaching and hit Stiles on the shoulder, who turned around and stared at her.

"Hey, Beth! Over here!" Lydia was sitting at their usual table, surrounded by the usual suspects. With an apologetic smile and a wave, Beth continued the rest of the way to Scott and Stiles.

"All right?" she said as she sat down beside Scott.

Scott and Stiles exchanged glances. "Um, yes?" Scott said uncertainly.

"You've gotten your stories straight yet?" She picked up and orange and started peeling.

Stiles huffed and shot her an offended look. "Wha- there's no-there's nothing to _get straight_ ," he snapped. "The truth is," he shot a pleading look at Scott, "the truth is that Scott forgot his inhaler at school, alright?"

Beth blinked a couple of times. "Inhaler? You didn't have an extra at home?"

Scott shrugged. "They're, uh … really expensive. So we had to go back. To get it."

"How … anticlimactic. Why didn't you tell me before? It seems to me that all this could've been avoided." She pointed at them all for emphasis.

Stiles threw out his arms. "Well, why did you want to know so badly?"

"Because I don't like being kept in the dark is all," Beth shot back. She showed an orange wedge into her mouth. "Why were you running away like that? It looked like you were being chased"

Scott and Stiles shared yet another look. "There were, uh, guards," Scott said.

"Because of the attack, yeah. But why not just tell them that you forgot your inhaler? Calling them, maybe? Can't imagine what kind of guard wouldn't let someone get his asthma medication." The memory of the overzealous officer surfaced. "Well, maybe I know one."

Scott shrugged. "I-uh, I don't know." He fidgeted in his seat. "But, uh … you didn't tell anyone about this, right?" Both boys were staring intently at her.

Beth scratched her neck awkwardly. "No, I didn't tell anyone. I wanted to know what you two were up to before-"

"Could-could you maybe keep this quiet? Because people could get, you know, the wrong idea." Scott looked anxiously over the students, his eyes seeking something.

Beth shrugged. "I don-"

"Please, Beth."

She looked into his imploring eyes. "Yeah. Won't tell a soul."

… … … … …

"His inhaler? Are you kidding me?"

Beth shrugged and leaned back on the couch. "That's what he said." They were sat in the living room, waiting for Jaime and Louie so they could start their last-minute family night.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "That's an excuse if I've ever heard one." She looked down at the magazine in her lap she'd been reading.

"Why would he lie?"

"I don't know," Chloe shrugged so hard the magazine slid out of her lap and landed on the floor, "but I think it's hinky."

"Hinky?"

"Don't you think so? Why didn't they just tell you this from the start? You said you had to hound Stiles for the better part of the day."

Beth scoffed. "I didn't hound him. I merely … prodded him for information."

Chloe rolled her eyes again. "Your prodding is more like a punch in the gut."

"I resent that accusation," Beth sniffed and stretched her legs out and rested her feet in Chloe's lap, covering the magazine.

"Doesn't make it any less true," Chloe mumbled and grabbed Beth's big toe, giving it a pull. "You have some nerve." She grabbed around Beth's angle and tickled the sole of her foot.

Beth regarded her coolly, or as coolly as it was possible for her to be.

"Not fair." Chloe showed her feet off her lap. "You are the giggliest idiot I know, how are you not ticklish?"

Beth threw her head back and cackled. "You have no power here!"

"Is that from Star War?"

With a gasp, Beth clutched at her throat. "You're no sister of mine!"

Louie cut Chloe's reply short. "What did she do now?" he asked as he came around the corner, carrying a dusty video player and on top of that balanced a battered VHS tape.

"She's being willfully ignorant," Beth sniffed.

"You're too easily riled up," Chloe said and pinched her leg. "You need some help?" she asked, as Louie nearly tripped over a frayed cord trailing after him.

"No, I got it."

"Clearly."

Louie placed the video player under the big TV and started hooking the cables to the television. "I found this in the garage. Fingers crossed it still works."

Chloe leaned over the armrest of the couch to get a better look. "Oh wow, I didn't know we still had this."

Louie smiled fondly at the machine. "There's a lot of memories tied to this thing," he said. "Now if only the piece of shit wants to work, or else it's gonna be tossed."

"Nice threats. I'm sure they help immensely," Beth said from where she was sprawled out on the couch.

"Well, I don't need threats, do I? Because you're going to work, aren't you, my pretty." He patted it gently.

Chloe snorted. "Oh great, now you sound like a serial killer." Beth's smile became strained as she eyed her still cracked phone that lay on the coffee table. She certainly knew someone who fitted the bill.

"What are we watching anyway?" Chloe asked.

Louie grabbed the VHS tape and held it up with a flourish. "Slugs!" He said cheerfully, before turning back around to fiddle with the cables.

"No! I thought you were joking about that! Slugs? Really?" Chloe hung her head over the armrest.

"I never joke about Slugs. See, Beth is excited." He gestured at Beth, who'd almost melted into the couch cushions.

"So excited," she mumbled, lazily waving a hand over her head.

Head in her palms, Chloe shook her head. "You two are unbelievable. Beth, I think we must've been switched at birth." That earned a laugh from the two others in the room. "At least I have popcorn to keep me company."

Louie looked over his shoulder at Chloe. "If it's popcorn you want, you're gonna have to buy it yourself."

"Aw, what? You don't have anything?" She jumped up from the couch, knocking Beth's feet to the ground, and went to the kitchen to check. There was a banging of cabinets before she returned. "There's nothing," she whined. "Not even a measly circus peanut. It's for situations like this that people normally have a stash of snacks."

Louie scoffed. "It wouldn't last long with you two in the house."

Chloe had reached the stairs before she turned around. "Beth, aren't you coming?"

Like a vampire rising from its coffin, Beth sat up on the couch. "Coming where?"

"To get some snacks from the gas station. Before curfew and all that." She shot a pointed look at Louie, who raised his hands in defence.

"But I'm so comfy here."

"Come on! I can't go alone! What if I get mauled by that … thing?"

Beth crossed her arms. "That's hardly fair."

"What's not fair is making me drive all the way across time for snacks. For all of us," she added, gesturing at the entire room.

"Pfft, the petrol station is five minutes away." Nevertheless, Beth got up from the couch with a groan. "But if you need me to protect you, who am I to refuse."

"Good girl. I'll go get my bag." Chloe disappeared up the stairs.

Louie went to his jacket that hung in the front hall and took out his wallet. "I think this should be enough," he said and handed Beth some crisp dollar bills.

When Chloe came downstairs again, Louie had returned to his fiddling with the video player.

Chloe barely touched the front door before Beth let out a shout. "Oi! Wait a sec." She bolted up the stairs and into her room. She grabbed her camera, not the Polaroid one, and after a couple of seconds consideration, she took a long lens from the shelf. When she returned downstairs, Chloe was impatiently tapping her foot.

"About time," Chloe said. "We have to get back before the curfew, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Beth attached the lens to the camera. "It took thirty seconds. At most."

The clock on the dashboard read 09:17 when Chloe started the car. Beth rolled down her window and took a photo of the side mirror. It took an age before the camera finally clicked.

"Doing some night photography?" Chloe asked as the car rolled out of the driveway.

Beth looked at the photo she just took. The resolution was way off. "Yeah, I figured if you had to drag me out then I could use the time for something useful." She turned towards her. "Smi-"

"Do not take a photo in here, or I will crash the car."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Relax. There's this clever little button on the side where you can toggle the flash on and off." The camera clicked loudly when she took a photo.

Chloe waved her away. "And you'd still forget to toggle it off, blind me and making me wrap the car around a tree like a pretzel."

"Chloe, have some faith in yourself." Beth poked her on the arm.

"I'll crash the car on purpose, don't test me," Chloe said but there wasn't any heat behind the words.

They bickered good-naturedly until they reached the petrol station. Chloe turned off the car and turned towards Beth. "Are you coming?"

"Nah, think I'll stay out here. Those photos won't take themselves." She waved her camera around.

"Suit yourself. I'll just get you some candy corn."

"That threat doesn't actually work when I don't know what they taste like."

"I might actually get you a bag just so I can use that threat in the future." Chloe exited the car and went into the shop.

Beth got out and stretched her arms above her head. The camera strap dug uncomfortably into her neck. Walking around the car, she held the camera up to her face and pointed it at the out of order sign at the closest pump. Just as she was about to push the button, a roar made her jump a foot in the air.

A car pulled up at the petrol pump farthest from her as she ducked down behind Chloe's car. She didn't need to see the driver to know to whom the car belonged. She only knew of one who owned a black sports car and she had a habit of running into him.

Beth peeked over the car to see Derek Hale get out and start filling his car with petrol. It was weird seeing him doing such a mundane thing as if he was somehow above basic maintenance of his car.

Suddenly, Derek lifted his head with a jerk, and Beth ducked down again. He moved his head from side to side, first staring at the shop and then at the darkened road behind him. He sighed through gritted teeth.

Beth was about to stand up – this was ridiculous, she was allowed to be there – when two cars pulled up on either side of Derek's sports car effectively blocking him in. Crawling on all fours, Beth edged to the front of the car and peered around it. Even from a distance, she could see the tension in his shoulders.

Derek, somehow looking impassively murderous, looked at the two men who'd exited the silver car. Slowly he placed the nozzle back on the pump.

"Nice ride," a voice said. Beth almost sat up in surprise. She knew that voice! Allison's father had exited the red SUV, walked up to Derek's car and placed a hand on the bonnet. "Black cars, though. Very hard to keep clean."

Beth furrowed her eyebrows. What in the world was he talking about? He sounded like an old-fashioned mob boss.

"I would definitely suggest a little more maintenance." He rubbed on a spot that, to Beth, looked pretty clean.

Derek stood stock still, regarding the situation with guarded eyes. His eyes kept flickering from the three men, looking like a cornered animal.

Mr Argent picked up a squeegee from a bucket by the pump. He looked so nonchalant as he cleaned the front window. "If you have something this nice you want to take care of it, right?" He looked at Derek. "Personally, I'm very protective of the things I love. But that's something I learned from my family." His voice was low and even.

Beth's mouth fell open. What the hell was going on? Why was Allison's father threatening Derek? Or giving him helpful car tips in the strangest way possible.

"And you don't have much of that these days." He turned away from the car. "Do you?"

Derek was about to crack, that was evident even to Beth who was crouched behind a car. His expression didn't change but his eyes blazed, brighter than they ought to be. They stared at each other in what felt like an eternity, before Derek visibly relaxed. His eyes, though, were still burning.

"There we go," said Mr Argent lightly. He placed the squeegee back in the bucket. "You can actually see through your windshield now. See how that makes everything so much clearer?"

Mr Argent was almost at his car when Derek spoke up. "You forgot to change the oil." Beth had to give it to him, he sounded composed in the face of the threatening carwash.

Turning around, Mr Argent's thin-lipped smile didn't reach his eyes. "Check the man's oil."

Beth covered her mouth to clamp down on a yelp when one of the henchmen walked up to the black car and smashed the window in. Derek stood passively in his spot.

"Look good to me," the henchman grunted.

"Drive safely," Mr Argent said, turning back and entered his car. Neither Beth nor Derek moved until they were out of sight.

When the last car disappeared around the corner, Derek walked up to his car to assess the damage. The driver side window was completely smashed in, littering the ground like ice. His impassive face transformed into a scowl at the sight.

"Hey, sorry it took so long; I couldn't find- what are you doing on the ground?" Chloe had exited the petrol station, arms filled with various brightly coloured bags.

Scrambling to her feet, clutching her camera in a death grip, Beth chanced a look at Derek. His face had once again gone murderous but this time it was directed squarely at Beth. Her knees went weak from fear when he balled his hands into fists so hard the knuckles went white and the muscles in his neck strained.

Chloe shifted her weight from leg to leg. "Are you … okay?" She furrowed her brows and looked from Beth to Derek.

"I was just-" she was cut off by a roar as Derek's car peeled away from the petrol station and disappeared into the night. There was silence for a couple of seconds.

"Okay, what the hell's going on?" Chloe hurried to Beth's side and tried rubbing her arm, resulting in her dropping most of the snacks.

Beth bent down and picked them up. "I-um, I … "her brain was blank. "I just think he's very … scary." That wasn't exactly a lie, although there was something different to it than just mere fear.

"Scary? What are you talking about?" Chloe moved to the driver's side and opened the door.

"You saw him, right? He looks like a serial killer." When her hands wouldn't stop shaking she balled them up into a fist.

Chloe scoffed. "Serial killer? More like underwear model. C'mon, get in."

Beth opened the door and collapsed in the seat. Her heart was beating hard enough she wouldn't be surprised if she could see it, like some sort of cartoon. "Hm, you're probably right," she said, looking out the window at the darkness.

"You- okay, now I know there's something really wrong. You agreed with me? Just like that."

Beth tore her eyes away from the glass littering the ground where Derek's car had been. "Can we just go home?"

Chloe gave her an uncertain look but said, "yeah, sure." She started the car and they slowly rolled out on the street.

Beth looked down at the bag of candy corn in her lap. She idly traced the name, wondering just what she'd witnessed.


	8. This is a Cliffhanger

**AN** **:** **Here's the next chapter and from now on I'll try to update more regularly than I have these last couple of months.** **  
** **If any of you guys have some constructive criticism or anything I'd really appreciate it 3**

... … … … …

Chapter 8: This is a Cliffhanger

For the first time in her life, Beth was eager to go to school. She got there early, hanging around her locker and looking around after Allison. Leaning against the cold metal she did her best to look inconspicuous as her eyes constantly flickered to the doors.

She was about to give up and go to class when Allison came through the door. "Hey, Allison!" Beth said and pushed herself off the locker.

"Good morning," Allison said airily and punched in the code to her locker.

Beth stepped up to her. "So, Allison, I have a-a question." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, absentmindedly fiddling with a bracelet.

Allison gave her a confused look. "Um, okay. What is it?" She leaned her shoulder against the metal.

"It just," Beth scratched her head, "occurred to me that I don't know that much about you- I mean, your family." She tried a smile. Allison's confused look indicated it didn't work.

"Oh." Allison relaxed. "Well, I don't know that much about it, outside of being French-"

"-No, I mean, like, your immediate family. What do your parents do?" She bit her lip. "Like your dad."

Allison got the last book out of her locker and closed it. They walked down the hall towards English.

"He's-Okay, this is going to sound weird."

Beth's hard skipped a beat. Did she know? Did she know her father went around threatening people and smashing car windows? "What is it?"

"He's a-a private security consultant." Allison shook her head and looked glumly ahead. "That's sorta why we move around so much. He goes where his expertise is needed." The way she said it, it sounded like she'd heard those exact words before.

"And, um, what does that entail, exactly?" She couldn't very well come out and ask if her dad made it a habit to go around terrorizing people. Although, Derek hadn't exactly looked terrorized.

Allison sighed. "A big locker filled with guns, for starters. That must be weird for you, right? People having guns like that."

Shrugging, Beth stepped out of the way of a student running down the hall at full sprint. "It's-well, some people have hunting rifles. It's more the automatic weapons I'm a little bit worried about. You can't very well hunt deer with an automatic machine gun."

"Yeah, I don't really tell people. I mean, it's not like it's a normal 9 to 5 job."

"Oh, so he works a lot, does he? Strange hours and whatnot?" She kept her voice light and inconspicuous. Her only tell was how she kept fiddling with her bracelet. Allison's willingness to divulge information indicated that she didn't know anything about her dad's nighttime activities.

"Yeah, sometimes he's gone half the night." Allison's dark curls danced as she shook her head. "But enough about him. What about your family? Jaime is an artist, right? What does your mum do?"

Beth stared at her a second too long, trying to find out if it was worth trying to dig a little more. Allison gently touched her arm, and she snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah. My mum is a marine biologist. She works at the university in Wrexham."

"Oh, really?"

"And-and my grandad used to be a fisherman, so I come from a family that's really passionate about fish."

Allison laughed and pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. "And what about you? Is there a budding marine biologist hidden somewhere inside you?"

Beth threw back her head and laughed. A girl walking past them shot her a strange look. "You've clearly never seen me in Biology. There's absolutely no way I would ever become a biologist. I shouldn't even be let outside without supervision."

They reached the classroom and Allison held open the door for her.

"Do you still want to switch seats?" Allison said.

"Huh?"

"You wanted to switch seats yesterday." Allison gestured towards the back of the room, where Scott and Stiles were already sitting. Most of the chairs had already been filled out with students, and just as they stood there, the second bell rang.

"No, it's … fine," she said slowly, cocking her head and staring at the boys with narrowed eyes. They knew Derek. Maybe not well, but it was the only lead she had. Allison clearly had no idea about her dad.

Scott noticed her staring and gave her a confused wave.

Allison was already moving towards her desk. A clearing of a throat made Beth turn around and looked at her English teacher's disagreeable frown. "Please find your desk, Miss Vinther."

"Right, sir," she said and scrambled to her seat in front of Scott, feeling the teacher's eyes bore into her back. She busied herself with finding the appropriate book and notes. They'd moved on from The Metamorphosis to And Then There Were None, a mystery she found far less appealing than what was going on in her real life.

… … … … …

Over the course the next two weeks, the incident faded from her mind, replaced by school work and listening to Chloe fret about college. She'd tried to help but it became apparent that she had even less of a clue than Chloe did.

She was sitting in the cafeteria, engrossed in an old Discworld novel she'd found in a second-hand bookshop when Lydia sat down opposite her. She looked at Beth for a couple of seconds before pointedly clearing her throat.

"Huh?" Beth looked up at her, a chip poking out from the corner of her mouth.

Lydia pursed her lips and waited until Beth had finished chewing before she started talking. "So next Monday is Allison's birthday and I was thinking that we should do something for her. You know, properly welcome her to Beacon Hills."

"I've never been properly welcomed to Beacon Hills and we got here the same time," Beth said, putting the book flat on the table.

Plucking the book from the table, Lydia used a napkin as a bookmark and placed the now closed book in front of Beth. "You've been here every summer since you were five; you've been welcomed enough. But what do you say?"

"I can't believe she told you and not me. I love birthdays!"

"She didn't tell me either, but I have ways of getting information."

"That sounds vaguely threatening. I love it!" Beth bit into a cold and rubbery chip. "Do you have any plans?"

Lydia took a delicate bite of her apple. "Hmm, not yet." She cast a look around to see if Allison was hidden nearby. "I want to surprise her, seeing as she didn't even tell us her birthday is coming up."

"It's sort of short notice."

Beth pushed the tray of cold chips to the side. "What do you do on your birthday? Any old Martin birthday traditions?"

"A big extravagant party," Lydia said breezily. "What about you?"

"Oh, Mum and I go to this really awesome cinema where we live, they only show these really snooty old films and indie flicks."

"That sounds like something you'd totally do." Lydia rolled her eyes. "What did you see this year? Your birthday was in January, right?"

Shrugging, Beth crossed her legs under the table. "Uh, well, I was already here so I didn't really do anything special. Just hung out with Chloe at home."

The looks Lydia gave her made her shrug uncomfortably.

"We should go," Lydia said. Beth looked at her in surprise. "They're showing Casablanca in East of Paradise tonight if you're interested."

Beth's eyebrows shut up. She did her best to ignore how her heart skipped a beat. "I'd love that." She beamed. "You know, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"Um, okay?"

"It's from the film, right? In the end …"

"Yeah, so I haven't actually seen it yet. Hence why I asked if you wanted to go." Lydia's tone of voice suggested what she thought of Beth's intelligence, which she brushed off as just Lydia being Lydia.

"Oh, yeah, right. Well, you're going to love it. Also, what is East of Paradise?"

Picking up Beth's discarded book, Lydia started to look through it. "The movie theatre where they only show snooty movies and indie flicks. I can't believe you haven't heard about it before now, it's right up your alley."

"I think I need a word with Chloe when I come home." She pulled out her phone. "When does it start?" She pulled up the website on her phone while Lydia read the blurb on the back of the book, putting it down with a distasteful pout. "So it starts at 8 tonight."

"We should grab dinner at this place that opened up a couple of weeks ago that I've been dying to try."

"Sounds fantastic," Beth said, picking up her book and smiling brightly. "It's a date."

Lydia rolled her eyes and got up. "Sure. If you find Allison, ask her if she wants to come with us. Where is she exactly?"

"At the library, I think. She said she had to study for a test and _I_ said that-"

"All right, I'll see her later." She dismissed Beth's offended look with a waved of the hand,

Beth got up too. "Oh, will you come and get me tonight? Since I still lack any form of transportation."

"Whatever. Get a car." With that, Lydia left and Beth followed her, going left and heading for the library.

When Beth got to the library she opened the door and peered inside. A handful of students were wandering around the shelves or sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, pouring over books. In the corner two girls sat, arguing hushed yet animatedly about something in the book in front of them. She found Allison sitting in a darkened corner, texting on her phone and pointedly ignoring the textbook in front of her.

Sensing her approach, Allison looked up. "Beth, hey. Has the bell rung yet?" She started gathering her things.

"No, not at all. I just finished lunch a little early and I figured it would keep you company. I can see you're immersed in studying." She winked at Allison, who snorted. "Exploration in Core Math," she read upside down. "Ew."

Allison closed the book. "I totally agree with you." She flicked some hair over her shoulder and checked the time on her phone.

Beth had promised Lydia not to tell Allison that they knew about her birthday, but it was hard as they chatted about school and homework.

"Before I forget," Beth said, stretching her arms over her head. "They're showing Casablanca somewhere called East of Paradise, Lydia just told me about it. We're going tonight. Do you wanna come?"

"Oh, I actually invited Scott over today after school," said Allison, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She was wearing that little smile that always popped up whenever she mentioned him. "For studying," she added hurriedly.

"Studying, eh?" Beth, sporting a big grin, leaned forward. "English or Biology?"

"Beth!" Allison's outburst was met with angry shushing from the librarian. She leaned forward and added: "It's not like that," in a hushed voice. She couldn't quite keep the smile off her face.

Beth held up both hands. "All right, I get it. You'd rather hang out with your new beau than with your oldest friends. We'll just make do without you." She sniffed and crossed her arms, looking pointedly out into the distance.

"It sounds fun, though. Next time, I promise." Allison smiled at her.

Beth gave up the act. "I can't believe I've never heard about East of Paradise before. They show nothing but indie films and classics. That's literally heaven for me."

Somewhere in the school, the bell rang, followed by a loud rustling as students gathered their stuff for next class.

"I didn't even know you were such a film buff," Allison said, standing up from her chair and slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder.

Beth got up and grabbed her bag she'd discarded beside her chair. "I used to watch films with my Grandad every weekend back in Wales. He really loved the classics; I guess they just remind me of him."

Together they walked out of the library. "So what is your favourite movie?" Allison asked innocently.

Beth gasped and stopped in the middle of the hallway. She placed a hand on Allison's shoulder. "I can't just … _pick_ a favourite movie. That's like asking a parent to pick a favourite child."

"Okay, drama queen. What's your favourite classic movie, then?"

"But what exactly is a classic? Because I would argue that … uh, Zodiac is a modern classic."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Fine. A movie made before 1960. Does that help?"

Beth looked to the side in thought. "A bit," she said. While she thought she was pushed gently forward by Allison. "I would have to say Vertigo, but, I don't know. This is harder than you'd think." She frowned thoughtfully at the ground.

"All right, don't have an existential crisis on me now." Allison laughed and rolled her eyes. She stopped where the hallway split in two. "I have history now, but I'll see you later, right? Have fun at the movies."

Beth gave her a little wave as she walked backwards down the hall. "See you."

… … … … …

After what felt like an age, the bell rang and Beth was released from Maths, still alive but barely holding on. She ambled down the hallway, slaloming between the students when she saw something that made her stop dead in her tracks. A swaying Derek stood in the middle of the hallway, looking around like he was searching for something. The students gave him a wide berth and it wasn't hard to see why: his face was ashen and a sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead. He held himself awkwardly as if he was recovering from a broken rib and as Beth watched him his knees almost buckled underneath him.

Beth had just made up her mind to slink away until he left – bright, murderous eyes were still vivid in her memory, - when he looked up and they made eye contact. Her heart skipped a beat when he stumbled forward and she took a step back.

For someone who looked to have one foot in the grave he was surprisingly quick. In two seconds he stood before her, fighting to keep upright. There was a sickly sweet smell about him and his brown eyes were dull.

"You-" he grunted and grabbed her shoulder in a vicelike grip. His other arm hung lifeless by his side.

Her heart beat double time as she tried prying his fingers off her shoulder. "Derek, what happened-" She was cut off when Derek's knees buckled and she grabbed him around the middle to keep him upright. His head lolled to the side before he righted it with a wince.

"I'm fine," he muttered.

Beth struggled to keep a grip on him. He was heavier than she'd thought. "You don't look fine, mate," she said. She tightened her grip and dragged him to the wall, where he leaned against it, panting like he just ran a marathon.

"I need-" pant- "to find-" pant- "McCall."

"Mc-Scott? What do you need him for?" What she really wanted to ask was why her friend's father went around threatening him, but he didn't look like he was in the mood for a patented Vinther interrogation.

"Just," his head lolled to the side, "find Scott."

There was a minor traffic jam where students had stopped to gawk at them. From down the hall sounded a voice. "C'mon, move along. School's over." Coach's recognizable voice carried over the noise from the students. "What's going on down there?"

Beth grabbed Derek around the waist and dragged him towards the main exit. "I don't know where he is," she ground out, "but I know where he'll be." Hopefully. Unless he'd left early and she was stuck with a Derek who looked more and more like a white walker by the minute.

Derek stumbled after her. His arm was draped around her shoulders, the only thing keeping him from toppling to the ground. His fingers were digging into her shoulder with enough strength to leave bruises and it sounded like his breath was getting shallower.

"Derek you're-ouch!" There was a stabbing pain in her shoulder and Beth had to blink to keep tears of pain at bay. Derek didn't notice her distress; he was hyper-focused on the exit doors slowly getting closer.

The students around them parted as they came shambling down the hallway. When they reached the doors, Beth was buckling under the increasingly unresponsive Derek. She kicked the doors open with a loud bang and almost sent them both tumbling down the stairs. The grounds were milling with people happy to get on home. Beth frantically looked around in search for a familiar face.

Bingo. Stiles' blue Jeep was parked close to the door, it's owner just climbing into the front seat.

"Wait!" Beth lurched forward with Derek in tow. It wasn't Scott but he was certain to know where he could be found. Those two were practically joined at the hip.

Stiles was backing out of the parking spot when Derek found the strength to push forward, almost throwing himself in front of the Jeep with Beth in tow.

The Jeep lurched to a halt a mere foot from Beth and Derek.

"Oh, my God," Stiles yelled, throwing up his hands in shock. "What the hell is- Beth?"

Derek, having spent his remaining energy, started slipping out of her hands.

"Can you- Help!"

Derek hit the ground, pulling Beth with him. She hit the ground hard and struggled to untangle herself from Derek's unresponsive form.

Behind them, multiple cars were laying into their horns as Stiles's Jeep was effectively blocking out the exit to the car lot. Stiles paid it no mind as he tripped out the car and ran to them.

"What the hell happened?" He said as he stared at Derek.

Beth remained kneeling on the ground, pulled Derek up in a sitting position. His face was glistening with sweat and there was a pained look in his eyes.

"I don't know! He just came out of nowhere! In the school." She felt the asphalt cutting her knees but it was nothing compared to the pain in her shoulder. Something wet was dripping slowly down her arm. "He wanted- Scott!"

The boy himself came running towards them, skidding to a halt beside Derek. "What the hell?" He shot Stiles a panicked look before he kneeled down. "What are you doing here?"

Derek, who looked halfway unconscious again, forced out between gritted teeth: "I was shot."

Beth gaped at him. "You were shot?" Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch.

The sound of her panic seemed to snap him out of it. He looked at her with bloodshot eyes before looking at Scott. "I need to-" he took a deep breath, "you need to help me." It was unclear whether the pain in his eyes was from whatever was wrong with him, or from asking for help.

Scott turned around and gesticulated at Stiles. That apparently meant something, because they angrily mouthed at each other until Stiles threw up his hands in defeat.

"Fine," he muttered, getting back in his car and drumming nervously on the steering wheel.

Scott got up and grabbed Derek around the waist. With an ease that Beth found almost insulting he heaved Derek to his feet, steered him towards the car and manhandled him into the back seat.

Getting up, Beth closely followed Scott. When he turned around after positioning Derek, he found himself face to face with her.

"Beth!" he squeaked, pressing himself against the car.

"You will tell me what is going on and you will tell me _right now_." She tried channelling her inner strict parent, as she stood with her hands on her hips.

Scott, seemingly lost for words, decided that the best way of getting out of the conversation was to throw himself into the passenger seat.

"Oh, no you don't," Beth mumbled and moved to stand in front of the car. She gritted her teeth. "What is going on? Who shot him?" She placed both palms on the bonnet of the car.

Stiles leaned out through the open window and flapped his arm frantically for her to get out of the way. "Beth now is really not the time." His head swirled around to look at the growing queue of cars behind them.

Dashing to the driver's side door, she placed a hand on the open window as if she could physically stop the car from driving away. She stared into Stiles's brown eyes, hoping to see the truth reflected there. "He looks like he's dying."

Stiles opened his mouth to answer.

"Go, now," Derek grunted, pitching forward and catching himself on the passenger seat. Beth hadn't noticed his bloodied hand before.

"Y-you need to- can you just forget this?" Stiles said hurriedly, prying her fingers off the door.

Beth spluttered. "I bloody well can't, you-"

A wordless roar from the backseat silenced her, making her hairs stand on end and lungs momentarily stop functioning. The last thing she saw before Stiles pressed the gas pedal and the Jeep peeled out of the car park, was a flash of cold, vibrant blue.

"Stilinski!" She shrieked after the Jeep, which was already speeding away from the school. Balling her hands into fists, she was almost shaking with frustration.

Now that nothing was blocking the traffic, cars were slowly driving by towards the exit. The drivers stared at her as she stood, angrily muttering to herself and staring at the spot where the Jeep disappeared.

A silver Porsche stopped beside her. Jackson sat glaring in the driver's seat, while Lydia leaned over him with an irate look. "Beth, what the _hell_ going on? Why are you screaming in the school parking lot?"

"What?"

"You're shrieking like a banshee. Get out of the car park before you become the town whack job. And what happened to your jacket?"

"What happened to my-? Nothing. It's fine." She gingerly touched her shoulder, feeling the frayed leather. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and it felt like five needles were being slowly inserted into her shoulder.

"Can we go now?" Jackson said, scowling at Beth.

Lydia huffed. "You look like a mess." She leaned back in her seat and shook out her red hair. "Get cleaned up before we go out tonight. I'll be there at 6."

"Yeah. 6. Got it," Beth muttered, looking back at where the Jeep had disappeared.

The Porsche shot forward and Beth had to move to not get hit by the side mirror. Jackson was cutting it awfully close.

When she got home, she rushed up the stairs and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her to make sure no one came barging in. Louie's car was parked in the driveway so she knew she wasn't alone.

Looking in the mirror, she cringed at the sight that met her; her face was covered with a thin sheen of sweat and her breath came out in shallow gasps. _Okay, Beth, get a grip on yourself,_ she chastised, forcing herself to take a couple of deep breaths. She had no idea why she was affected like this.

Gently prodding her shoulder, she winced and leaned forward so she could assess the damage. Now she looked at it, she could see small holes perforating the leather where Derek had had his iron grip.

"Bloody hell," she mumbled as she pulled back the now ruined leather jacket and exposed her shoulder; the sheer fabric of her dress was ripped and bruises were starting to blossom on her skin. One place the skin was broken and a droplet of blood was slowly making its way down her arm.

A knock made her jump out of her skin.

"Hello? Chloe?" Louie called through the door.

Beth grabbed some toilet paper and wiped the blood away. "No, it's me." Her voice sounded breathless.

"Oh, Beth. Hey! Are you okay?"

She threw the toilet paper away and opened the door. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She made a conscious effort to control the shrillness of her voice.

"You ran directly to the bathroom. Are you sick? You look a little peaky." He put a hand on her forehead.

Beth ducked under his arm and moved towards her room. "I'm –I'm fine. Right as rain. I just … I really needed the bathroom. Have you any idea how disgusting school bathrooms are?"

Louie shuddered. "Please don't remind me. Don't forget, I also did time in school when I was around your age."

"I'll be down in a minute; I just need to change. These clothes still smell of school." She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, hoping that Louie hadn't noticed anything too strange.

When her erratic heartbeats had finally slowed to normal and her hands no longer shook, she took off her jacket and held the ruined leather up to the light. What in the world could have done that? Logic would say Derek, but last she'd seen he didn't have freakishly long and sharp fingernails to tear through leather and skin.

She left the jacket on the bed – it was still salvageable – but the dress went straight into the waste-paper basket. Then she changed into something that didn't have any holes that weren't supposed to be there and walked downstairs.

"What are you doing home, anyway? Don't tell me that Beacon Hills has officially run out of news." She said as she came down the stair and headed into the kitchen to open the freezer, looking after the brightly coloured tub of ice cream she knew was hiding somewhere.

Louie leaned against the doorframe. "Fortunately not. They're renovating the office so I decided to work from home. Get me a bowl, too, will ya."

Shutting the freezer, Beth found two bowls in the cupboard and dumped a generous helping of ice cream.

"How was your day?" Louie asked when they returned to the living room, Beth sitting on the couch and Louie by the dining table where he'd been working. Beth's room was formerly Louie's office, and he'd had to relocate when she moved in.

She shrugged. "It was a day." She decided not to tell him about the end, though. Now that it was over, she was embarrassed about her reaction. Mostly about screaming her head off in the school car park. "I do need some holy water, though."

Louie, who had been thumbing through a folder, looked up with a bemused smile. "Holy water? Why do you need that? Is anyone possessed?"

"I have a little experiment in mind, actually. I'm going to slip a couple of drops into Mr Harris' coffee and see if it makes him dissolve." She wiped some ice cream from the corner of her mouth. "That's sort of chemistry, isn't it? So it should be OK."

Shaking his head, Louie sent her a look. "He can't possibly be as bad as you say. Are you sure you're not exaggerating just a bit?"

Beth jabbed her spoon towards him. "You don't know him! I swear to God, he's the worst teacher I've ever had. He's like if Miss Trunchbull and Umbridge had a lovechild."

"The stuff of nightmares," Louie remarked flatly. He scraped the bowl for the last ice cream. "Before I forget, Jaime and I have a date tonight, so you and Chloe are on your own."

"Keeping the romance fresh, huh? I, too, have an engagement tonight."

Louie looked at her over the edge of his computer. "Intriguing. Is it a date?"

"Hardly." Just for a moment, Lydia's bright smile swam before her eyes. "I'm going to see Casablanca with Lydia and she wanted to try a new restaurant that just opened."

When Beth finished eating, she moved to stand behind Louie, who had returned to his work.

"What are you working on?" she asked, peering at the folder on the table where the corner of a photo poked out. Setting down her bowl beside Louie's, she reached out and plucked it from the folder.

Louie's hand shot out and snatched it back, but not before Beth had gotten a good look at what it was; a pale body lay in a shallow ditch, on top of dark cloth. Dead eyes stared up and mud matted her dark hair. The cloth had been pushed away to reveal the ragged cut where someone had cut her body in half. Her stomach flipped at the sight. She'd never seen a dead person in either real life or a photograph.

"Beth!" Louie yelled and showed the photo underneath the file. "You can't just go messing around in my stuff."

"I'm sorry," she said with furrowed brows, "but why do you have a crime scene photo? Is that the girl who was murdered in the woods?" She looked at the screen, which Louie quickly closed down.

"This was- that doesn't matter. What matter is that I don't want you to see this stuff, all right? Jaime will kill me if he ever finds out you saw this."

"But it is, isn't it? How did you get a hold of it?" She winced when Louie got up and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"This is none of your business," Louie said, his voice imploring. She rarely saw this side of Louie, serious and worried. "I know you want to know what happened but you can't just go around sticking your nose in this stuff, alright?"

Beth nodded, looking down at her feet. Louie squeezed her, luckily, unhurt shoulder. "We're good, yeah?"

She looked up at him and gave him a wan smile. "We're good."

Grabbing the two bowls, she went out in the kitchen and loaded them in the dishwasher, leaving Louie to work in peace. Images of the dead girl danced in front of her every time she closed her eyes. Death in the films was cheap knockoffs of the real deal. Not even the most talented actor could catch the hollow emptiness, and she'd only had a glimpse of the body.

Just how the hell could an animal do that?

She went up to her bedroom and pulled out a notebook and pen. Sitting down, she stared thoughtfully out the window. Then she wrote a single word.

 _Derek_.

After a couple of seconds, she added _Hale_ because using his first name felt too informal for someone who scared the shit out of her.

She drew a circle around it and wrote _Scott_ and _Stiles_ and circled them too. Then _Mr Argent_.

From _Derek_ she drew a line, wrote _got shot_ and connected it to _Mr Argent_ with a question mark. She drew an arrow from _Mr Argent_ to _Derek_ and wrote _threatened in a Kwik Gas car park_ and _has locker filled with guns_.

She wrote _friends?_ and drew a line from _Derek_ to _Scott_ and _Stiles_ and added _drove him away. Hospital?_

Leaning back, she looked up and tapped the pen on her chin. What else had happened?

 _Sneaking around the school at night_ was added to _Scott_ and _Stiles_. Then _inhaler?_

She wrote _Allison_ and connected it to both _Scott_ and _Mr Argent_.

She was about to stop when something caught her eye. Outside in the school car park, the last teacher was leaving for the day. The headlights from their car hit the glass and danced for a moment before it was gone.

"Lights," Beth mumbled and grabbed her computer. She found the photos she'd taken from Lydia's party and quickly found what she was looking for: a photo of Derek standing by the pool, his face nearly obscured by two bright orbs of light.

She grabbed the pen and, not knowing what it really meant, wrote _glowing eyes_ and then _on photos_ and connected it to _Derek_ and _Scott_.

They were the only two, out of nearly two hundred photographs, who had lens flares- or glowing eyes.

A knock sounded at the door and Beth nearly slid off her chair in shock.

"Come in," she said hurriedly and closed the notebook.

The door opened and revealed Lydia who waltzed in and stood in the centre of the room, hands on her hips and turning in a slow circle.

"I know I said I'd be here by 6 but I got here early to find you a more suitable outfit. We all know you can't really be trusted with that." She opened the closet and huffed at the mess that met her. "Do you ever organise in here?"

Beth kicked out her legs and the chair rolled up beside Lydia. "Well, hello to you too. And I do, as a matter of fact, but after three days it just regresses back to its normal state and I've just stopped trying to fight it."

Lydia was too busy rummaging through Beth's closet to answer so instead Beth started trying to figure out how to mend her leather jacket.

After having gone through almost every article of clothes in Beth's closet Lydia settled on a white ruffled shirt and a dark blue skirt. When she found Beth satisfactory, they walked downstairs, where Chloe sat on the couch reading a magazine.

"Hi Lydia," she greeted. "Where are you guys off to?"

"Hello, Chloe. We're going to see one of Beth's old movies at East of Paradise," Lydia said.

"Hey, it was you who suggested it," Beth said, leaning against the wall to put on her shoes. She looked at Chloe. "Are you all right, being all alone?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'm not a child, you know."

Beth snorted just as Jaime walked out from the kitchen. "Have a good time, girls. And don't come home too late," he said and pressed a kiss to the top of Beth's head.

"We will, Mr Sandoval," Lydia said sweetly and opened the front door.

"Yeah, bye dad. Chloe." She mimed tipping her hat and grabbed her jacket. Walking outside after Lydia, she swore quietly. "I forgot how cold it got in the afternoon."

"Don't be a baby. It's not that cold." Lydia walked briskly to her car, with Beth close at her heels.

"You're also wearing trousers," Beth grumbled as she sat in the passenger seat. Fortunately, the car was equipped with heated seats and when Lydia turned the keys, they were hit with a warm blast of air.

Lydia pressed down the gas pedal and the car moved down the street. "So when are you going to get your driving license?"

Beth snorted and lifted her eyebrow. "Assuming I even want to get one."

"You can't keep riding around on that bike. You always complain how cold it is; imagine if you had a nice warm car instead." They stopped at a traffic stop and Beth rested her head against the cold glass.

"It's better for the environment," she said.

Lydia huffed but changed the subject. "Are you ever going to tell me why you were screaming in the parking lot?"

Beth fiddled with the safety belt. "It's not really that important," she said in what she thought was a dismissive voice.

Lydia shot her a look before she had to return her attention to the road. "You were throwing a tantrum like a child."

"Whoa! I did not stamp my feet." Beth pouted. "It was just … uh. Stiles-yeah, Stiles left before I could talk to him … about, uh, Chem. Yeah, he has some notes that I need."

Lydia side eyed her. "And you felt it necessitated screaming bloody murder in the middle of the school?"

Beth let out a weak laugh. "When you say it like that it does sound like I overreacted." She looked down at her hands, desperately trying to come up with a change of subject.

They drove up to the restaurant a couple of minutes later, and Lydia parked her car. Getting out, Beth looked up at the building. Newly built, it had a low ceiling and big windows where warm light spilled out onto the pavement. In the middle was a big fish tank filled with lobsters. It didn't exactly look cheap. Really, Beth wouldn't have minded eating at McDonald's if it meant spending time with Lydia.

"A table for two, please," Lydia said as they got inside. The hostess smiled and showed them a small table in the corner of the room.

"I'll be out with your menu cards momentarily," she said pleasantly and retreated from the table.

"This is a nice place," Beth commented. She sat back and looked around the room. Most of the tables were vacant, but it was still early. "It looks a little pricey, it does."

On the other side of the table, Lydia rolled her eyes. "Relax, this isn't gonna ruin you. They just opened so the prices are lower than what they'll be in a month."

A server appeared, placing two menus in front of them. "Good afternoon. Is there anything I can get you to drink?" he asked.

"A glass of Perrier, no ice, please," Lydia said as she opened the menu.

"Certainly. And for you, miss?"

"Uh, I would like a glass of Coca-Cola, please. Thank you."

The server scribbled their order on a pad. "I'll be out with it in a minute." He grabbed the two wine glasses on the table and left for the kitchen.

Beth cracked open her menu and looked down. It wasn't as expensive as she thought, thank god. She got a generous allowance every month, but she'd rather use it on clothes or books than food.

"Everything looks so good," Beth whined after some time. She was stuck between a rack of lamb or spinach frittata.

Lydia, who'd already found what she wanted and was only waiting for Beth, sighed. "Just make up your mind, it's not that hard."

The server arrived back at the table with two glasses and took their order. When he left, Lydia leaned back and stared intently at Beth.

"What?" Beth asked after taking a sip of coke. Lydia's calculating look made her skin itch.

Have you given a thought to who you're going with to the Winter Formal yet?"

"The Winter Formal is still a month away. Don't you think it's a little bit early to think about that?"

Lydia shrugged. " _I_ know who I'm going with. So does Allison, if Scott doesn't manage to screw it up somehow. We need to find you a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend," she added quickly.

Beth's smile was a tad strained. "We've already talked about this. I want to get settled first before I even start considering a relationship."

Lydia scoffed. "I'm not asking you to marry anyone, but it would be nice to have someone to go on double dates with." She ran a finger around the rim of her glass.

"I don't need anyone to go on a double date with you and Jackson."

Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I don't fancy being a third wheel. But anyway, I rather like hanging out with you without any significant others in the picture." She smiled brightly at Lydia.

A corner of Lydia's mouth turned up. "'Well, you can't take yourself to the Winter Formal,"

"Okay then, can we shelve this discussion for later, maybe? When the Winter Formal isn't years away. If I don't find anyone, I'll even let you set me up with someone. How does that sound?"

Lydia mulled this over before she offered a curt, "fine," and moved on to another topic.

After they'd eaten and paid their bill, they got to the cinema which was an old theatre repurposed to the most hipster-looking place Beth had seen in Beacon Hills. The building was worn down but well kept; the light from the old fixtures spilled their warm light out on the pavement and vintage film posters hung beside the entrance. Inside the place smelled of popcorn and freshly brewed coffee.

They were stood in line for tickets when Lydia turned towards her.

"Beth," she said in a quiet, exasperated voice, "we're the youngest ones here, by about 30 years."

Beth smiled cheerfully at the couple in front of them. "I know. Can you believe kids these days? They have absolutely no appreciation for the classics."

"That wasn't really what I was going for," Lydia grumbled.

Beth slung an arm around her shoulder and beamed at her. "I know."

When they got out after the film it was pouring down and they hurried to the car.

"So what do you think of it then?" Beth asked when they were safely out of the rain and Lydia was driving down the darkened road.

"I kinda liked it more than I expected to. You never really know what you're gonna get with your taste in movies."

"Oi! I have a great taste, thank you very much. When have I _ever_ -"

They rounded the corner and Beth immediately knew something was wrong. Alternating red and blue light lit up the street, and at first, she thought something had happened at the school again.

"Aren't they parked by your house?" Lydia asked, slowing down as she neared the cluster of police cars.

The car had barely stopped before Beth struggled out of her safety belt and nearly face planted on the ground in haste to get to the house. She ducked between two tan police cars and sprinted towards the house, her heart beating faster and faster the closer she got.

... … … … ...

 **AN: Here's looking at you, kid!**


End file.
